Note: The text below is the transcript of the YouTube video above.
Verona. The stage of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, where Juliet’s house draws visitors from around the world.
It’s a truly beautiful place where people come to celebrate love. I visited too, of course. But what if I told you that Verona’s magic, for me, lies somewhere quite different?
If you’re drawn to art and modern architecture—places where you can discover something unexpected—today I want to share another side of Verona with you.
Hi, I’m Satomi. I’m a Japanese artist living in London, and I believe the world is full of captivating stories. On this channel, I take you with me on my travels as I search for that inspiration. Together, we’ll discover the hidden stories behind incredible art, craftsmanship, and design.
Verona sits between Milan and Venice in northern Italy. I was heading there from Venice, where I’d been staying for a few weeks. People kept recommending Verona, so I was excited to see it for myself.
After a big lunch and a visit to Juliet’s House, my exploration began. About a fifteen-minute walk away, I reached the Castelvecchio Museum, which was originally a fourteenth-century fortress.
I was so captivated by the architecture—a masterpiece, renovated by one of the twentieth century’s great architects: Carlo Scarpa. Scarpa was born and based in Venice. He’s best known as an architect, but he was also a brilliant glass designer, and he even served as artistic director at Venini, a historic Murano glassworks.
He began work at Castelvecchio in the late 1950s, continuing in phases through the 1970s. He’s famous for his incredible attention to detail, and as an artist, that’s something I find deeply inspiring. You can feel it everywhere.
Look at this joint—where the old stone meets the new floor. Scarpa leaves a tiny breath of air so you can see the joint, not hide it.
Now look down: small windows in the floor and neat little cut-outs in the walls—he’s showing you what’s original and what’s been added.
He was brilliant with light, too. Look at how it streams in. He leaves a narrow gap, and that thin line of light across the room is just beautiful.
And here’s a lovely surprise. During the renovation, they uncovered an old water channel that once fed the moat. He didn’t cover it—he left it visible beneath a glass panel. Scarpa said, “I really like water—perhaps because I’m Venetian.” You can feel that here—water isn’t a problem to hide; it’s part of the story.
Something about his work felt familiar to me, and then I learned he had a deep love for Japanese aesthetics. It all just clicked.
He admired Frank Lloyd Wright, a famous American architect, best known for Fallingwater and Wright’s work helped deepen his interest in Japanese ideas.
At Castelvecchio, you can even sense a Japanese touch—slender, shoji-like lattices and sliding screens that stage light and movement. He once said, “Yes, I am very much influenced by Japan… I admired their essentiality and above all their supreme good taste.”
In 1969, aged sixty-three, Scarpa visited Japan for the first time. He was deeply struck by the water set within Japanese gardens, the etiquette of the teahouse, and the delicate play of light through shoji and lattice doors. He later remarked that “Japanese culture refines the spirit,” and after that visit the sensibility became even clearer in works such as the Brion Cemetery.
I love Japanese gardens and the tea ceremony too, so I’ll share more in a future video.
But in 1978, something unexpected happened. During his second visit to Japan, Scarpa fell on a staircase in Sendai and passed away. It’s actually quite sad—and honestly a bit ironic—since his architecture is all about steps and layers.
If you’re a Scarpa enthusiast, there’s more nearby: he also designed the Banca Popolare building. It might be worth a quick stop to see its distinctive oculus windows—even just from the outside. And if you ever visit Venice, his work there is absolutely worth discovering.
My next discovery was about a ten-minute walk away—Verona’s most beautiful square, where Palazzo Maffei rises in Baroque splendour. It was built in the mid-seventeenth century by the Maffei family. There are Roman temple foundations underneath. In 2020, it opened as a house-museum for the private collection of Luigi Carlon—a Veronese entrepreneur and lifelong collector—sharing fifty years of passionate collecting with the public. He began collecting as a young man and once said, “The less I understood, the more passionate I became… No one in my family pushed me towards art.”
Inside, what I loved most was the range and the quality: eighteenth-century frescoes beside Picasso; Baroque decoration before de Chirico; Futurists, Metaphysical works and contemporary sculpture—each piece finding its perfect conversation partner across the centuries. It’s clear Carlon has a real talent for pairing the ancient with the modern so they sit together beautifully.
And then there’s Verona’s most iconic symbol—the Arena di Verona, this incredible Roman amphitheatre.
During the summer, it hosts one of the world’s most famous opera festivals. Unfortunately, when I visited, they were in preparation mode and I couldn’t get inside.
Experiencing authentic opera in this ancient setting is definitely on my list for next time. Some pleasures are worth saving.
Today, I shared just a glimpse of Verona through two places that really captured my heart.
And here’s something else – while the daytime energy is wonderful, there’s something magical about Verona after the tourists have gone home. The quiet evening streets are absolutely beautiful, so if you’re staying overnight, definitely take some time to wander around then.
I absolutely love Venice and all its vibrancy, and I found myself equally drawn to Verona’s more peaceful beauty. After two months of travelling through the south of France, I was honestly feeling pretty worn out, and this city’s tranquillity was exactly what I needed for some reflection.
For me, travel is really about more than just checking off famous landmarks – it’s about discovering things that speak to you personally. Things you never knew you’d love. Verona has this incredible range, from ancient Roman ruins to contemporary art, so there’s really something here for everyone. I hope you’ll also take the time to explore and find what resonates with you.
Next, I’m heading back to my homeland—Japan. After living in London for so long, I’m excited to share Japanese traditional crafts and art that I’m passionate about.
If you don’t want to miss this journey, please subscribe to my channel.
And tell me what you would like to see in Japan!
You can also find my own artwork and current projects on Instagram and my website—I’ll put those links in the description below. I can’t wait to show you Japan. See you there.
