Cerro Veronese – Oak, Monte Croce and Giassàra

Cerro Veronese can be discovered through specific local features: the historic oak on Piazza della Chiesa, a typical mid-mountain landscape, and preserved evidence of the local history of ice. For planning your trip, it is especially important to distinguish between a freely accessible area with views and organized guided tours. This allows you to explore the town through its landscape and name history as well as through earlier methods of ice storage.

The Oak on Piazza della Chiesa

The present-day name Cerro Veronese derives from the historic oak on Piazza della Chiesa. Botanically, however, it is not actually a Cerro oak, but a cork oak with the scientific name Quercus crenata. This distinction is part of the town’s name history and makes the oak a tangible reference point if you want to understand Cerro Veronese through its place name. The square thus connects the visible tree with the explanation of why this name has been retained for the town.

Mid-Mountain Landscape and Historic Border

Cerro Veronese features a typical mid-mountain landscape. Extensive pastures alternate with ancient hills, shaping the landscape you can observe around the town. Another historical reference is Monte Croce: it once marked the border of the Tredici Comuni Cimbri. This statement refers to its former function and does not describe a present-day border.

Separate from this is the area around Monte della Croce, which is freely accessible. There are stone benches offering views of Lessinia and the Verona plain. If you would like to experience Cerro Veronese’s connection with the landscape directly, this is a place where the pastures, hills, and views of the wider surroundings come together. The stone benches are just as much part of the situation described as the views themselves.

The Giassàra and the History of Ice

The Giassàre constitute a separate historical topic. The Giassàra shows how the giassàroi once stored ice and sold it in Verona during the summer months. This place therefore refers to an earlier activity that connected Cerro Veronese with supplying Verona in summer. The Giassàra dei Carcerèri is a restored icehouse in Cerro Veronese near the hamlet of Carcereri. This specific building makes it possible to understand the historical function of ice storage, while the name Giassàra preserves the local character of this facility.

Visiting it requires a different form of planning than the area around Monte della Croce: in summer, several organized guided tours of the Giassàra dei Carcerèri are offered. Visits can be arranged by telephone. If you would like to learn about this restored icehouse, arranging the visit by telephone is therefore the documented way to organize one. The freely accessible area around Monte della Croce and the guided visits to the Giassàra dei Carcerèri thus represent two different ways of discovering Cerro Veronese.

Other Places for Orientation

For further orientation, you can also visit Cisano Di Bardolino, Pesina Spezie, Valgatara, Borghetto, Moschina, Fornello, Marchesino and Quinto Di Valpantena.

For the higher-level travel overview: Verona.