It was not possible to be in Italy and not take in an opera. We had the good fortune to have a decent weather window for this. No, we were not sailing but going to the 1st century Roman Arena in Verona for Aida.

The Arena could hold the 25,000 population of Verona when it was built but with the enormous set, stage and orchestra pit there were a few thousand fewer for our visit. What to say? ? The lead singers were magnificent: Turkish tenor Murat Karahan as Egyptian General Radames, the Ukrainian Liudmyla Monastyrska as Aida the Ethiopian princess, and Belorussian Ekaterina Semenchuk in the role of Amneris the daughter of the Egyptian King (incidentally, as a gift from the Mariinsky Theatre Trust in St Petersburg she was flown to Prince Charles and Camilla’s wedding to sing a Russian Creed).

The Romans certainly knew a thing or two about acoustics as there were no microphones and no amplification. Brilliant. The performance started at 21:15 and did not end until about 01:00.

Of course, we visited another Roman amphitheatre and the archaeological museum, which did not disappoint. Castelvecchio is the castle built in the mid-14th century and houses an outstanding art gallery, with a remarkable collection of Madonna and child paintings.

As an aside, Castelvecchio was built by Cangrande II. His ancestor Cangrande I – has some echoes for the UK’s current Prime Minister. The name means Big Dog which is a nickname the current UK PM adopted in his fight for survival. Perhaps he should be warned that in later life the autocrat Cangrande became known as Canrabido because of his increasing paranoia and, although known for his joviality, his furious temper when things were not going his way …. he was found to have died from digitalis poisoning. Only saying.

The Duomo and the church of San Zeno Maggiore are sumptuous, there are pleasant squares at Piazza Erbe with its market (much tourist tat), Piazza dei Signori with its statue of Dante Aligheri, and Piazza Bra beside the Arena. “Juliet’s balcony” allegedly from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet attracts large crowds despite it being a fiction … yes, we did go and look.

Each evening we took the funicular up to Castel San Pietro to promenade and sit with an Aperol or Campari Spritz looking out over the city, before heading for dinner.

Altogether a splendid couple of days made even more pleasant by our opera-themed aparthotel Theatrum Rooms and Suites - our room was La Traviata.

Another place on the list for a return visit at some point in the future.

Photos in the Gallery.