San Giorgio di Valpolicella

Some archaeological excavations have brought to light findings that attest to the presence of human settlements, on the hill of San Giorgio, since ancient times. In particular were found, in addition to a rectangular hut belonging to the bronze age, other successive structures dating back to the IV century B.C.; all these buildings are in the shape of a “Rhaetian House”, typical of the territories of alpine and subalpine. The inhabitants of this village practiced mainly on agriculture and breeding and are considered the ancestors of Arusnati, population which would be seated in Valpolicella during the Roman period. It may seem easy to reach San Giorgio di Valpolicella by taking the road that crosses the vineyards, but it’s not. Indeed, going up to the hamlet, running like the wind, it’s not a thing for the lazy ones. In San Giorgio you can find the characteristic stone, the marble, and the typical wine which have always been there. Here we are in the Valpolicella area, well-known for its Amarone wine, less than 15 km away from the Veronese bank of Lake Garda. Even though Lazise and Bardolino are the jewels of this lake, what really draws the attention of the visitor is the smell of wine barrels, leading him towards the sunny hills situated in the south Monti Lessini area where, during the grape harvest, a light mist tempers the outlines of the countryside. In this village they keep everything, starting from the other name with which it’s known: “Ingannapoltron”. This term means deceiving the lazy ones (poltroni), which have to reach this place after a very long walk – or so it seems. Actually the term “poltron” was added as a joke to the name of San Giorgio in Ganna, where “ganne” is a Pre-Roman word meaning heaps of stones, symbolizing the ancient method of carving the stone. To this day, around the hamlet, there are different quarries that are still working, from which the famous red Verona marble is produced. This type of marble is also known as Sant’Ambrogio marble, name of the province capital; it is the same marble that was used to create the lions of