Page 203 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Venice & The Veneto

VERONA  201

tombs of Mastino II, or Mastiff
(d.1351) and Cansignorio,
meaning Noble Dog (d.1375).
These two tombs are splendidly
decorated with Gothic
pinnacles. In their craftsmanship
and design there is nothing else
in European funerary
architecture quite like these
spiky, thrusting monuments.
Plainer tombs nearer the
church wall mark the resting
place of other members of the
Scaligeri family – Mastino
(d.1277) who founded the The façade of the Duomo, Santa Maria Matricolare
Scaligeri dynasty, having been
elected mayor of Verona in Dominican order. Most inter- Romanesque portal carved
1260, and two who did not have esting is the Gothic portal, with by Nicolò, one of the master
dog-based names: Bartolomeo its faded 15th-century frescoes masons who carved the façade
(d.1304) and Giovanni (d. 1359). and carved scenes from the life of San Zeno (see pp202–3). Here
of St Peter Martyr. Inside, the two he sculpted the sword-bearing
R Sant’Anastasia holy water stoups are supported figures of Oliver and Roland,
Tel 045 59 28 13. Open Mar–Oct: on realistic figures of beggars, knights whose exploits in the
9am–6pm Mon–Sat, 1–6pm Sun; Nov– known as i gobbi, the hunchbacks service of Charlemagne were
Feb: 10am–5pm Mon–Sat, 1–5pm Sun. (the one on the left carved in celebrated in medieval poetry.
& 7 ^ ∑ chieseverona.it 1495, the other a century later). Nearby stand saints and
A huge church, Sant’Anastasia Off the north aisle is the sac- evangelists with bold staring
was begun in 1290 and built to risty, home to Antonio Pisanello’s eyes and flowing beards.
hold the massive congregations fresco, St George and the Princess To the south there is a second
who came to listen to the (1433–8). Despite being badly Romanesque portal carved with
rousing sermons preached by damaged, the fresco still conveys Jonah and the Whale (removed
members of the fundamentalist something of the aristocratic for restoration) and comically
grace of the Princess of grotesque caryatids (load-
Trebizond, with her noble brow bearing figures).
and her ermine-fringed cloak, as The highlight is Titian’s
St George prepares to mount his Assumption (1535–40) in the
horse in pursuit of the dragon. first chapel on the left. Further
down is the entrance to the
R Duomo Romanesque cloister with
Tel 045 59 56 27. Open Mar–Oct: excavated remains of earlier
10am–5:30pm Mon–Sat, 1:30– churches on the site. It leads to
5:30pm Sun; Nov–Feb: 10am–5pm the baptistry, known as San
Mon–Sat, 1:30–5pm Sun. 7 & ^ Giovanni in Fonte (St John of
∑ chieseverona.it the Spring). This 8th-century
The lofty, Romanesque interior of Visitors to Verona’s cathedral church features a huge marble
Sant’Anastasia pass through a magnificent font carved in 1200.
Romeo and Juliet
The tragic story of Romeo and Juliet, written by Luigi da Porto
of Vicenza in the 1520s, inspired countless poems, films, ballets
and dramas. At the Casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s house), Via
Cappello 27, (tel: 045 803 43 03), Romeo is said to have
climbed to Juliet’s balcony. In reality this is a restored
13th-century inn. The run-down Casa di Romeo is in
Via delle Arche Scaligere, while the so-called Tomba di
Giulietta, Piazza del Pontiere 35, (tel: 045 800 03 61), is in a
crypt below the cloister of San Francesco al Corso on Via del
Pontiere. The stone sarcophagus is empty and rather plain,
but the setting is atmospheric. Juliet’s house and tomb are
open 8:30am–7:30pm daily (from 1:30pm Mon).

Watercolour of Juliet embracing the dying Romeo

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