Between 1406 and the fall of the republic in the late 18th century, Verona was one of the most important important mainland possessions of the Republic of Venice (arguably the second most important after Padua).

Most cities under Venetian rule were run as miniature versions of Venice's (very limited) republic, however great care was taken to account for different traditions in each city and province. No two cities were run exactly alike. In Verona, the local noble families elected from amongst themselves a fifty-man legislature with yearly appointments, and from these a twelve man executive council; these bodies had veto power over the Rettore, the local administrator appointed by the Venetian Council of Ten (the executive branch of the Venetian government) on the advice of the Venetian Senate.

The commander of the local garrison who would be responsible for public order, called the Capitano, who was an army officer appointed from Venice; the post of Capitano di Verona was one of the most important in the Venetian military posts, especially as after the War of the League of Cambrai about half of the Venetian army would be stationed in Verona. Coordination between the province of Verona and its neighbors as well as local security decisions were handled from the appropriate offices of the Dominio da Tera in Venice.

The Rettore's primary responsibilities were overseeing the collection of taxes and what rudimentary public services the state could provide in the Early Modern Era: the Republic paid for free primary schooling, and stipends to professors of higher education for Civil and Canon Law as well as Medicine, who were also exempt from personal taxation; the origins of the modern University of Verona.