After the Arena and the Teatro Romano, Verona’s most impressive Roman remnant is the Porta dei Borsari (on the junction of Via Diaz and Corso Porta Borsari), a structure which was as great an influence on the city’s Renaissance architects as the amphitheatre. Now reduced to a monumental screen straddling the road, it used to be Verona’s largest Roman gate; the inscription dates it at 265, but it’s almost certainly older than that.

Some way down Corso Cavour, which starts at the Porta dei Borsari, stands the Arco dei Gavi , a first-century Roman triumphal arch which was re-built in 1930 after Napoleon’s troops tore down the original. This is your best vantage point from which to admire the Ponte Scaligero ; built by Cangrande II between 1355 and 1375. It was the turn of the German army to indulge in wanton destruction this time: they blew up the bridge in 1945, but the salvaged material was used for reconstruction. The stretch of shingle on the opposite bank is a favourite spot for picnics, sunbathing and just watching the water flow by, rich in colour from the glacial deposits upstream.

The fortress from which the bridge springs, the Castelvecchio (Tues-Sun 9am-6.30pm; L6000/¬3.10), was commissioned by Cangrande II at around the same time and became the stronghold for Verona’s subsequent rulers. Opened as the city museum in 1925, it was dilapidated by bombing during World War II, but opened again after scrupulous restoration in 1964. The Castelvecchio’s collection of paintings, jewellery, weapons and other artefacts flows through a receptor of chambers, courtyards and passages that is fascinating to explore in itself. The equestrian figure Cangrande I , removed from his tomb, is strikingly displayed on an outdoor pedestal; his expression is disconcerting at close range, the simpleton’s grin being difficult to reconcile with the image of the ruthless warlord. Outstanding among the paintings are two works by Jacopo Bellini, two Madonna s by Giovanni Bellini, another Madonna by Pisanello, Veronese’s Descent from the Cross , a Tintoretto Nativity , a Lotto portrait and works by Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo. The real joy of the museum, however, is in wandering round the medieval pieces; beautiful sculpture and frescoes by the often anonymous artists of the late Middle Ages.