Events in the history of Verona, in Italy.
Pre-Roman Verona
The origins of Verona are unclear. According to some theories it was a city of the Euganei, who were obliged to cede the city to the Cenomani circa 550 BC. Other scholars link its foundation to the presence of the Arusnates in the area, a people of uncertain origins, perhaps taped to the Etruscans: the name would have meant "Venetian city on the river" in the Etruscan language. Pliny the Elder attributed the foundation of Verona to the Raetians instead. The relationship between Verona and Ancient Rome was usually one of friendship or alliance. In the 1st century BC the citizens fought alongside the Romans against the Teutones and Cimbri invaders. The city derived importance from possessing the main ford in the area, situated on the Adige river.
Roman Verona
Verona became a Roman colony in the year 89 BCE, receiving the franchise in 59 and became a municipium in 49 BCE. The former ford was replaced by two bridges, one of which, the Pothumius Bridge, also functioned as an aqueduct, as well as a dam for setting naval battles in the Theater. The city also had a forum, not far from the current Piazza delle Erbe () and, outside the walls, the famous Arena. Its strategic importance lay in its position at the junction of four main roads: the Via Gallica, from Turin to Aquileia; the Via Claudia Augusta, from Modena to Germany; the Via Postumia, from Liguria to Illyria; and the Vicum Veronensis, which connected the city to Ostiglia.
Due to its leading position in northern Italy, Verona was often involved in civil Roman wars. Famous figures who fought here include Vespasian and Vitellius (CE 69); Philip the Arab and Decius (249); Carinus and Sabinus Julianus (283); and Constantine the Great, who defeated Ruricius Pompeianus here after a long siege in 312. The city was also the residence of emperors on a frequent basis. In 265 the emperor Gallienus, to improve safety, extended the walls to include the Arena.
In the 1st centuries CE, Verona slowly converted to Christianity; sometimes the beliefs of its citizenry aligned closely with unorthodox theories such as those of Arius or Fotinus. Under Bishop St. Zeno, the orthodox doctrine was definitively imposed. (see Ecclesiastical history of Verona)
Early middle ages
In 403 the king of the Visigoths, Alaric I, invaded northern Italy from Dalmatia. After setting himself up in Verona, he was defeated by the Roman general Stilicho. In 452 the Hun confederation leader Attila was stopped, after a series of ravages, not far from Verona by an imperial embassy led by Pope Leo I.
After the definitive fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, Verona was one of the strongholds of Odoacer, whose government was well entrenched in the city. At Verona, Odoacer implemented his last stand against the Ostrogoth army sent against him by the Eastern emperor, which was led by Theodoric the Great.
With the taking of Verona in 489, the Gothic domination of Italy began; Theodoric built one of his palaces in the city: another was in Ravenna. In Germanic legends the name of Verona is linked with that of Theodoric, in German Dietrich von Bern. The city remained in the hands of the Goths all through the Gothic War, with the exception of a single day in 541 when an Armenian officer effected an entrance. The Goths were able to regain possession of the city, due to disagreements which arose among the Byzantine generals with respect to booty. In 552 the Byzantine general Valerian vainly endeavoured to gain an entrance, and only the complete overthrow of the Goths brought about the city's surrender.
In 569 it was taken by Alboin, King of the Lombards. Verona became, for all intents and purposes, the second-most important city of his kingdom. Alboin was killed by his own wife at Verona in 572.
The dukes of Treviso often resided there. At Verona in 774, Adalgisus, son of Desiderius, made his last desperate stand against Charlemagne, who had destroyed the Lombard kingdom. Verona was then the ordinary residence of the kings of Italy. The government of the city became hereditary in the family of Count Milo, progenitor of the counts of San Bonifacio. From 880 to 951 the two Berengarii resided there: Berengar II made the city the seat of a frontier March, which replaced the March of Friuli. At various times, the March of Verona was under the control of the Duchy of Carinthia and at other times not. From 951 to 975, both Carinthia and Verona were under the control of the Duchy of Bavaria.
The 983 royal election was held in Verona.