As one of Verona’s top landmarks, a visit to Piazza delle Erbe is included in most sightseeing tours of the city. The centerpiece of the square is the Madonna Verona Fountain, a fountain topped with a 1st-century Roman sculpture of a crowned female figure holding a metal scroll. Other must-see sights in the square include the Palazzo Maffei, which is curiously decorated with statues of Greek gods; the Torre dei Lamberti; and the statue of St. Mark’s Lion—the symbol of the Republic of Venice—atop a white marble column.
Piazza delle Erbe is located in the heart of Verona and can easily be reached on foot from most places in the central city. The square is located between Via Mazzini and the Corso Porta Borsari just a few blocks from Juliet’s House and the Piazza dei Signori. It’s also accessible by bus, taxi, or as part of a sightseeing bike or Segway tour of Verona’s top sites.
Piazza delle Erbe is a public square, so it never closes. The produce market is generally open Monday through Saturday from morning until evening, as well as the occasional Sunday. With overflowing sidewalk cafes, street performers, and a busy nightlife scene, evenings are an especially lively time to visit the square.
Just off of Piazza delle Erbe, a bone, believed to be a whale’s rib, is suspended mysteriously from the Arco della Costa (Arch of the Rib) by an iron chain. The rib has been hanging there since at least the 1700s, and legend has it that it will fall once the first honest and truthful person walks beneath it.