The position on the ancientVia Postumia and the perpendicular intersection structure of its roads suggests that the city had Roman origins.
In the Middle Ages, in occasion of the foundation of the Rectors' Council of Verona, on March 9, 1185, it received the privilege of a tax free town, from which derived the name ofvilla franca.
Castle, built from 1199. One of its towers has stones coming from an arch entitled to the Roman emperorTiberius. The castle was destroyed several times, but was rebuilt by theRepublic of Venice, until it was abandoned in 1450.
Church of Disciplina or of Visitazione (15th century). Donated by the Count Giorgio Maffei in 1499 to the Confraternity of Disciplinati, it has a Baroque façade and houses the "Mortorio", recently restored, a group of 9 wooden statues showing Jesus Christ, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimatea, Mary, Mary of Cleofa, Mary Betania, Mary Magdalene and the former owner of the Church.
San Rocco Church (15th century). It houses frescoes from the school ofDomenico Morone.
Church of San Giovanni della Paglia (15th century), built for theKnights of Malta. Today it is a private church.
Cathedral (17th century), dedicated to Sts. Peter and Paul.
Serraglio (14th century), a defensive wall built by theScaliger to protect the southeastern side of the territory, now in ruins. Started byMastino II in 1345 and completed byCangrande II in 1355, it was 13 kilometers long, with defensive towers, and followed the course of the river Tione.
Bottagisio Palace, location of the peace treaty signing
Villafranca has an important commercial tradition: every Wednesday morning in the city center there is an important market.
Agriculture is specialized in fruit, and as a consequence of this, Villafranca owns an important trade market for peaches.
As for gastronomy, typical of this town aretaiadele coi fegadini (tagliatelle in broth with liver of chicken), andsfogliatine, fragrant doughnuts prepared by many pastries in the town.
Verona Airport "Valerio Catullo" is located in Villafranca di Verona. Verona Airport andBrescia Airport "Gabriele D'Annunzio" constitute the "Garda's Airport System."[citation needed]
Air Dolomiti, a regional airline andLufthansa subsidiary, maintains its head office inDossobuono, Villafranca di Verona.[4] At one time the airline's registered office was in Dossobuono, Villafranca di Verona, while the airline's executive headquarters were inRonchi dei Legionari.[5]
^"Air Dolomiti addressesArchived March 7, 2008, at theWayback Machine."Air Dolomiti. Retrieved on 21 December 2010. "Registered Headquarters: AIR DOLOMITI S.p.A. Linee Aeree Regionali Europee Via Paolo Bembo, 70 37062 Frazione di Dossobuono - Villafranca di Verona - Italy."
^"Office addresses."Air Dolomiti. 7 March 2008. Retrieved on 21 December 2010. "Registered Headquarters: AIR DOLOMITI S.p.A. Linee Aeree Regionali Europee Via Paolo Bembo, 70 37062 Dossobuono di Villafranca (VR) - Italy" "Executive Headquarters: AIR DOLOMITI S.p.A. Linee Aeree Regionali Europee Via Senatore Antonio Tambarin, 34 34077 Ronchi dei Legionari (GO) - Italy"
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