Due to its strategic location on the Adige River, Verona started as a Roman settlement during the Antiquity. Roman ruins can be found around the city center. As the Roman Empire declined, Verona was ruled by various tribes. After the Lombard League defeated the German Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa at the Battle of Legnano in 1176, Verona became an independent city state. During the 13th and 14th centuries, Verona was ruled by the Scaliger family and enjoyed a period of unprecedented prosperity. During its peek in 1336, their territory extended to Parma and Lucca. Their insignia with a ladder can be seen everywhere. In 1405, Verona became a part of the Venetian Republic. As Venice declined, Verona suffered the same fate of foreign occupation under Napoleonic France & Austrian-Hungarian Empire, before becoming a part of the unified Italy in 1866. Now, Verona is the second largest metropolitan in the region of Veneto, after Venice.