“There is no world without Verona walls,
But purgatory, torture, hell itself.
Hence-banished is banish’d from the world,
And world’s exile is death.”

William Shakesepeare

That’s not completely true, There are a lot of interesting places in a range of few miles.

Valpolicella

The territory of Valpolicella extends over 240 square kilometers, northwest of the city of Verona, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. The land is steeped in culture as well as having a long tradition of food and wine. The area lies south of the eastern pre-Alps, north of the Adige river, east of the Valdadige Valley and west of the city of Verona. Nearby Lake Garda is just 15 km to the west. The first human settlement, dating back to the Paleolithic Era, increased in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, due to the easy availability of flint (stone material that could be worked on) of which there was so much that it was exported towards central Europe. With the arrival of the Romans, at the end of the 3^rd century B.C., prehistory was to end. The first large population to settle in Valpolicella in this area was the Arusnati. The Romans guaranteed their administration which allowed them to become a central part of the next two thousand years of tradition in Valpolicella. The name Valpolicella was coined in the following century (to repace the names Veriago and Pruviniano) which was made official in 1117 by Federico Barbarossa. In 1311 the region was lost to Federico della Scala in a feud and he took on the title of Count; in 1404, with the end of Scaliger rule, Valpolicella, like Verona, was handed over to Venice. The Vicariate was located in San Pietro in Cariano but from 1550, at the end of the Republic of Saint Mark, the area of Sant’Anna D’Alfaedo constituted an autonomous Vicariate.

Plague arrived in the period from 1517 to the end of the Very Serene Republic of Venice, which was then followed by an era of calm until the arrival of Napoleon and his troops who sacked and plundered the area several times; from 1814 to 1866, life went back to normal due to the Constitution of the Kingdom of the Veneto-Lombard. With the beginning og the 20^th  century life cecame to change and accelerate particularly from 1955 on, a period which saw farmers and marble craftsmen became the small and medium sized entrepreneurs of today.

Lake Garda

Lake Garda (Italian: Lago di Garda or Benaco) is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last Ice Age. The lake and its shoreline are divided between the provinces ofVerona (to the southeast), Brescia (southwest), and Trentino (north). Being easily accessible from the north via the Brenner Pass, the lake is a major tourist destination, including a number of exclusive hotels and resorts along its shore.The northern part of the lake is narrower, surrounded by mountains, the majority of which belong to the Gruppo del Baldo.The shape is typical of a morainevalley, probably having been formed under the action of a Paleolithic glacier. Although traces of the glacier’s actions are evident today, in more recent years it has been hypothesized that the glacier occupied a previously existing depression, created by stream erosion 5 to 6 million years ago.The lake has numerous small islands and five main ones, the largest being Isola del Garda. Nearby to the south is Isola San Biagio, also known as the Isola dei Conigli (“Island of the Rabbits”). Both are offshore of San Felice del Benaco, on the west side. The three other main islands are Isola dell’Olivo,Isola di Sogno, and Isola di Trimelone, all farther north near the east side. The main tributary is the Sarca River, while the only outlet is the Mincio River. If the water level of the Adige river is too high, excess water is diverted to the lake through the Mori-Torbole tunnel.
Towns and villages on the lake
The ancient fortified town of Sirmione, located on the south of the lake, is one particularly popular destination, home to the Virgilio & Catullo Spa Complexes, as well as numerous restaurants, bars, hotels, fashion stores and a market. The picturesque Scaliger castle dates from the 13th century. TheRoman poet Catullus had a villa here, and visitors can see a ruined Roman spa named the Grotte di Catullo (Grotto of Catullus) although there is no evidence linking him to this particular building. The sulfur springs at the tip of the peninsula have a reputation for healing catarrhal conditions, particularly those involving the ear. Nearby, there is Gardaland, one of the most famous theme parks in Italy. Every village has interesting hystoric corners, the most famous, is Malcesine, causing the long Goethe stay for it’s “Gran Tour” with a well conserved Scaliger Castle and a museum inside.
The most important villages on the east side of the lake og Garda :

• Malcesine
• Brenzone
• Torri del Benaco
• Garda
• Bardolino
• Lazise
• Castelnuovo del Garda
• Peschiera del Garda
• Nago-Torbole

The lake is also known from sailers like one of the most exciting places to sail and race.

Fraglia Vela Malcesine and Circolo Vela Gargagnano, organized a lot of high level competition :
Centomiglia,  The RC44 World cup, top level of olympic sailboat races and main class as Star, Dragon, Laser, Melges,