Once again this year, Jolife by Villafrut is proud to support the sporting event Straverona.
But how did this highly anticipated event, so loved by the citizens of Verona and beyond, come to be?
It all began in 1983, when the first edition of Straverona was held — a non-competitive sporting event that has taken place annually in Verona ever since, usually on the third Sunday of May. That year, the Esseciemme Mondadori Walkers Group accepted a request from the then Sports Councillor Graziano Rugiadi to organize a city run in honor of Verona’s patron saint, San Zeno. As a result, they moved the 11th edition of their existing event “Sei Ville” (originally scheduled for April 24) to Verona and renamed it the 1st Straverona.
With the sponsorship of the Municipality of Verona and the Sports Department, and with the collaboration of the San Zeno Festival Committee and the sports groups Mombocar, Paliaga, and Camera, a city run was organized featuring two routes of 10 and 20 km. Nearly 10,000 runners took part — a surprising number for the time!
The event was officially named: “LA SEI VILLE VA A SAN ZENO – 1ª STRAVERONA.”
In 1983 and 1984, the city run took place in Piazza San Zeno. In the years that followed, due to the growing number of participants, it moved to the larger Piazza Bra.
In 1984, the Sei Ville returned to its original home at the Sporting Club Mondadori, and the Straverona Committee was formed to organize the 2nd edition of Straverona. The first president was Cesare de Monte, with members including Vincenzo Presutti (Unione Marciatori Veronesi), Gianluigi Pasetto (FIASP), Giorgio Dalla Via, and Luciano Fantoni (San Zeno Festival Committee).
In 1997, the Straverona Association was officially founded and later became a recognized amateur sports association (A.S.D.).