Celebratory events of the Veronese Easter

Verona commemorates the historic uprising against Napoleon.

On the occasion of the 228th anniversary of the death sentences and the first executions of the Martyrs of the Veronese Easter, on Friday, May 16, 2025, at 6 p.m., in front of Palazzo Ridolfi-Da Lisca (formerly the Messedaglia Scientific High School, now the Montanari High School, 200 meters away from Piazza Bra), the historic clash between the Veronese and the French will be celebrated, with the laying of laurel wreaths at the commemorative plaques, in the presence of historic Venetian and Veronese soldiers in period uniforms: the Noble Guard of Verona, the Schiavoni, and the Dragoons.

Palazzo Ridolfi Da Lisca was the home of the French military court or War Council, which sentenced the death of the patriots of the Veronese Easter.

The commemoration then continues in Piazza Pasque Veronesi and at Porta Nuova.

The uprising in the city of Verona and its countryside, which broke out on April 17, 1797, Easter Monday against the Napoleonic occupation, was called the Veronese Easter. Among the countless uprisings that filled Italy and Europe from 1796 to 1814, occupied by Bonaparte, the rebellion in Verona is certainly the most important in Italy.

During the revolt, which began on the morning of Easter's second day, the exasperated population managed to neutralize numerous French soldiers, especially in the early hours of the battle that mainly took place in front of Castelvecchio, while the French soldiers tried to take refuge in the city's castles.

The insurrection ended on April 25, 1797, with the encirclement of the city by 15,000 French soldiers; the consequences that the city and its citizens had to face were extremely severe, from the payment of significant sums to the looting of works of art and precious goods.