Under Theodoric, ruler of the first true Roman-Barbarian kingdom, Verona saw the construction of baths, porticoes and palaces; he renovated the aqueduct and surrounded the city with new walls to make it a worthy capital of his kingdom. When the era of Theodoric ended, Verona was occupied by the Byzantines and then for a long time by the Lombards.

Later, in the period between the 11th and 12th centuries, the so-called muri novi come into being, placed downstream of the now unusable Roman-Barbarian walls. This new line of defense, perhaps built on a route that was already in Roman times, constitutes a connecting channel between the east and west sides of the river bend right at the edge of an area of overflow that is still perceptible today in the city’s unevenness in the vicinity of Castelvecchio.

The use of brick along with stone, be it river pebble or split stone, demonstrates the existence of refined medieval knowledge in the area and an interest in the works that goes beyond mere function, but rightfully falls within the realm of architecture.

On the threshold of the advent of the Scaliger seigniory, Verona is characterized by the marked presence of towers and forts, both of public palaces and of the noblest and richest families but also the bell towers of the many churches.

The advent of the Scaliger dynasty opened a new chapter for the city, which, undergoing major urban expansion, needed a new walled enclosure, such that the city limit was shifted more than 500 meters from the previous one.

By 1325 Verona was one of the largest fortified systems in Europe.

The walls still extend from the right of the Adige River, near San Zeno, to reach the Tower of the Holy Trinity, near what is now the San Francesco Bridge, while on the left of the river they go to include the entire ridge of the hills northeast of the city, thus drawing that unprecedented profile that still makes it unmistakable.

Scaliger intervention thus led to the absorption of all the ancient suburban neighborhoods, such as San Zeno, into a concluded form of the city.

From 1406 to 1409 the Serenissima proceeded with the restoration of the Scaliger walls and the completion of Castel San Felice, a work left unfinished by the Visconti. However, it was not until 1517 that the Venetians, having returned to possession of the city, began a total overhaul of the defense system. Verona became a bulwark city for the Venetian Republic, playing a decisive role for the entire Veneto region.

With the advent of artillery in the war, the structure of the defense system was modified through the introduction of first circular, then polygonal, low and mighty bastions, replacing the high medieval crenellated walls of Cangrande and Calzaro.

In 1530 Michele San Micheli, an architect from Verona, enriched the city with Walls and Gates, which became a clear example of the relationship between civilian life and military necessity.

The walls, some of which are still present in their original state despite the Napoleonic demolitions, and especially the Gates, mark not only a progress in architectural history in relation to the continuous dialogue with the ancient, but also, for the city, a real new urban configuration.

At the opening of the new century, after the Peace of Luneville in 1801, both the Austrian sector of Verona, to the left of the Adige River, and the French sector, to the right, were affected by hypotheses of urban reorganization; it was in this context that one of the leading figures of the Veronese architectural scene came to light: the celebrated Veronese architect Bartolomeo Giuliari.

He will play a prominent role in safeguarding the city’s historical heritage as well as proposing project ideas. It was he, for example, who in 1801 took over Sanmicheli’s 16th-century city wall to the right of the Adige River, which the French administration had already decreed to be dismantled.

After the Congress of Vienna in 1814, the city, is again under Austrian rule, but is tried and impoverished by the raids of Napoleon’s troops.

In 1833 the Austrian Empire decreed the restoration of Verona’s fortifications, assigning the task to German engineer Franz von Scholl. The Venetian wall was not demolished but preserved, strengthened and supplemented with new elements. Low walls “à la Carnot,” typical defensive masonry consisting of solid, thick walls, were built at the foot of the embankments that remained after the demolition of the Venetian ramparts ordered by the French, while the line of artillery defense was shifted and consisted of rings of fortresses at regular distances.