12th World Bridge Championships

• Verona - Italy


The Arena

Verona (pop. 260,000), the capital of Verona Province in Veneto Region on the Adige River, lies in Northern Italy, strategically located on the route from Milan to Venice and from Italy to central Europe via the Brenner Pass.

Verona is an important railroad and marketing center, but most people recognize it for its history and culture. Noteworthy architectural landmarks include the Romanesque basilica of San Zeno Maggiore (mainly 12th-13th century), the tombs of the Scaliger family (14th century), the Gothic Church of Sant' Anastasia (completed 15th century), the magnificent 16th-century palaces of Bevilacqua, Canossa, and Pompeii, and the Castel Vecchio (1354), now housing a museum of art. A Roman amphitheater from the 1st century AD is still used, for open-air concerts. Verona's most well-known attraction is the Arena which stages the world-famous opera festival every summer. The city is the setting for several plays by William Shakespeare, including, most notably, Romeo and Juliet.


	Juliet's balcony (!)

Once an Etruscan village, Verona became a Roman possession in 89 BC. The German barbarian ruler Odoacer made it a military stronghold in the 5th century AD. In the 12th century it became a free commune. The city reached the height of its political and artistic prominence in the 14th century, under Ghibelline rule. Conquered by Venice in 1405, it remained a part of the Venetian Republic until 1797, when it was occupied by French forces under Napoleon.

The Veronese school of painting (15th and 16th centuries) is known for its landscapes and portraits. In the 19th century Verona was under Austrian control until 1866, when it became part of the kingdom of Italy. It was badly damaged during World War II (1939-1945).

• Travel to/from Verona

Verona is situated in a strategic position, from where other important Italian artistic towns are easy to reach. One can get to Verona:

• by car
A4 motorway (Milan-Venice) exit ‘Verona Sud’ or A22 motorway (Brennero-Modena) exit ‘Verona Nord’.

• by train
The main railway station is ‘Verona Porta Nuova’, where the lines Milan-Venice and Rome-Brennero intersect. There are ordinary or Intercity (faster) trains from all main northern Italy stations almost every hour.
[For further information, go to: www.trenitalia.it, or call 892 021 (within Italy only)].

• by plane
The airport ‘Valerio Catullo’ of Verona Villafranca is situated 10km from the city centre. There is a shuttle-bus service from and to the airport every 20 min.
[For further information, go to: www.aeroportoverona.it, or call +39 045 805 7911].

• Venue

The championship will be hosted at the ‘Europa’ Conference Centre, which provides an area of 10,000 square meters situated in the modern complex ‘Veronafiere’, only 3 km away from the city centre. The Conference Centre has eight equipped rooms with a total of 1,400 seats; its flexible structures and technology used make it possible to host a further 1,500-2,000 people. It is also possible to link up to small-sized rooms in the same building through audio visual systems.

There is ample space for setting up stands, poster areas, slide centres and catering areas. Adjacent to the various rooms, there are secretarial offices, a reception area, a cloakroom, press rooms and several meeting rooms.

Services and Bus
AMT (the local public transportation company) and ‘VeronaTrade Fair’ provide shuttle-bus connections linking Verona downtown and the hotels to the playing area.

• Hotel Accommodation

1,850 rooms in 52 different hotels have been reserved by HPT, the official travel agency, for the participants of the World Bridge Championships in June 2006. There is a great variety of hotels to choose from, in terms of categories and rates.

Everyone reserving hotel rooms through HPT will be entitled to a 20% discount on the tournament entry fees.