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Filippini Neighbourhood
GPS coordinates= 45.43717, 10.99936
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
The Filippini neighbourhood begins beyond the Customs House, between the Adige and the San Fermo highway; the name derives from the establishment of the monastery attached to the homonymous church of the Fathers of the Congregation of the Oratory of San Filippo Neri in 1715.
THE CHURCH
Located in Via Filippini, the church of San Filippo Neri – often referred to as just Filippini – was severely damaged by the 1944-45 air raids, but it was soon restored, along with the bell tower. The building was rebuilt by the Fathers of the Oratory of San Filippo in 1776, as stated by the date carved above the entrance.
THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE:
Used in 1575 as a warehouse to isolate products that arrived in the city by river, for hygienic purposes, it became, over time, a storage area available to merchants; this led to the construction of a new river customs house, still in Filippini, a few dozen metres away. In 1853, there was a further change in the use of the architectural complex: the City of Verona, in fact, had its eye on this area when choosing a suitable place for building a new public slaughterhouse.
Today the old municipal slaughterhouse is in civil and commercial use: it is home to many handicraft shops, and is the chosen location for important exhibitions; it also houses pizzeria Numbero 5, recommended if, on a stifling hot summer evening, you feel like eating a pizza on the bank of the river.
THE CUSTOMS HOUSE
The history of this building dates back to 1745, when, on the initiative of the Verona City Council initiative, but without consulting the government of Venice, construction began on the great Customs House. The Venetian authorities were strongly opposed to the construction of this facility, as it is a short distance from the river, and was to perform a double function of Customs house for land and water, allowing Verona a leadership and autonomy of trade over their rulers. When, on 1 March 1748, the new Customs House of San Fermo was inaugurated, Venice had already implemented a series of tax and duty countermeasures to effectively frustrate the commercial emancipation of Verona. Only in 1790, to a few years after the death of the Republic of Venice, in a changed political and economic environment, the Venetian authorities decided to allow the Customs House of San Fermo to operate on the river.