The Project Gutenberg eBook of the Story of Verona, by Althea Wiel.

On each side of the door, and close to it, stand the figures of Roland and Oliver, the paladins of the Carlovingian age, who stamp alike their romance and epoch in lasting forms of stone on the grand façade of the Duomo of Verona. Around them are grouped Old Testament saints, while in the architrave above are the medallions of three crowned women, who were once supposed to represent Faith, Hope and Charity. They are however three queens who gave generously to the church, namely Bertranda, Charlemagne’s mother; one of his wives; and Ermengarda, the wife of Desiderio, the last of the Lombard kings. The façade, with its rows of small columns set so as to show to advantage the noble proportions of the building, is very impressive, and it is interesting to follow the traceries of former windows and speculate over the effect which this west front was once intended to have shown.

The lateral door on the south side is wonderfully fine, and belongs to the earlier and purer date of the building. The polychrome marbles about this doorway prepare the eye for some frescoes of a very early date in the lunette above, while yet higher up and of a still earlier date is a statuette of the Virgin, which may rank as one of the finest of that period in Verona.

The interior of the Duomo is Gothic in its character, and is a very good example of how that style of architecture was then treated in Italy. The ceiling is ugly in its mistaken intention to represent “the starry firmament on high” here set forth in a painted blue curtain meant for the vault of Heaven with gilt stars upon it. The shape of the building is cruciform, and supported by columns and capitals of different forms all made of marble either from Verona or from the East. In the first altar to the left on entering is a picture by Titian of the Assumption. It is a grand painting, and has evidently gained a certain value in the eyes of the Veronese by having been carried off to Paris by Napoleon I., and restored to Verona after that grand pilferer had left Europe and most of his selected goods behind him. The frescoes above the high altar were designed by Giulio Romano, and executed by Torbido in 1534. The rounded colonnaded screen in front of the high altar forms one of the chief features of the church and is extremely beautiful in its way. It was designed by San Micheli, but is not altogether in keeping with its Gothic surroundings, being essentially classic in its plan and execution.

On the top of the screen is a beautiful bronze crucifix by Giambattista da Verona, whereon are the arms of Bishop Ludovico Canossa, in whose episcopate it was set up. There is evidently some fine work both as to marbles and paintings on the altar immediately to the proper right of the high altar, but an ugly, modern erection (said to be temporary) in front of the organ shuts out all the light and leaves the fancy free to speculate over glories that perhaps do not exist. The organ itself, a good specimen of “barocco” work, is richly decorated, and its doors are painted by Felice Brusasorci. Close to it, but lost and hidden by the stand above mentioned, is the Cappella Maffei, with some good, though small paintings by Francesco Morone; and some frescoes by Falconetto—indeed the best work done by this latter, signed by him and bearing the date 1503, is to be found among these frescoes.

The altar beyond the high altar and to its proper left, is known as that of St Agatha (1353), and contains a lovely tomb partly Gothic, partly Renaissance. A few of the bones of the saint are buried here, the rest are interred at Catania. Below these relics again lies the body of Sta. Maria Consolatrice, a sister of St Annone (bishop of Verona in the fourth century), who was brought here in 1807 when the church which was named after her, and where till then her body had rested, was suppressed.

The last altar to the left coming out of the church contains part of a picture by Liberale having for its subject the Adoration of the Magi. Mr Selwyn Brinton says of this picture: “He (Liberale) was living between 1489 and 1490 in Verona, when he painted the Adoration of the Kings in the Duomo, with a rich landscape. Here he is still the miniaturist in feeling; his drawing careful, but unsound; his action quaint and startling; his bright colours thrown together without harmony; his background exuberant in detail.”[43]

Leaving the church by a small door in the left hand corner we come into all that is left of the first church of Sta. Maria Matricolare, from which the cathedral actually took its name and which it retained till it was sunk in that of Duomo. The remains of this church consist now of only six columns with capitals of Lombardo-Byzantine style; and from here we pass into the adjoining small church of S. Giovanni in Fonte, which served in past times as the Baptistery. It has a magnificent octagonal font in the centre, carved out of a single block of Verona marble, on which a series of bas-reliefs, well worth studying, represent in humorous and quaintly primitive carving scenes from the early life of our Lord. Within the octagonal font is a smaller one in quatrefoil shape, wherein the priest was wont to stand and submerge the catechumens who presented themselves for baptism. A painting by Paolo Farinato, representing the baptism of Christ, stood formerly over the high altar, but has now been moved to a side wall, where other works by Giovanni Caroto, Falconetto, and an unknown pupil of Brusasorci, are all hung—and hung too high. Falconetto’s picture is an extremely fine one, recalling in composition, feeling and colouring—at least, as far as can be made out at such a distance—the school of Gian Bellini and the great early Venetian masters.

From the little church of S. Giovanni in Fonte we turn away to the left, and keeping always in that direction, having gone round a corner or two, we reach the cloisters of the cathedral. They recall in some way those of St Zeno, though not altogether similar in arrangement. Here the bases and capitals are united, each pair as at St Zeno being cut out of a single block, while on the side nearest the church the pillars are double—an effect that is remarkably beautiful and striking.

The Duomo forms a centre around which clusters much that is interesting, though the time for investigating these various sights will not in reality take long. In the Piazza on the left hand side facing the chief portal stands the Biblioteca Capitolare, a library belonging to the Duomo, and containing some 18,000 volumes in all. The date of some of the treasures contained here is what constitutes the value of this library, and enhances its worth and interest to an untold extent. It is said to be even superior to the Vatican as to the number of the old codexes which it possesses; and which—not including fragments of the fourth century—date from the fifth to the ninth centuries. It was here that Petrarch discovered the letters of Cicero. Niebuhr brought to light the institutions of Gaius, compiled in the reign of Caracalla; and men of letters of all nations and languages find scope here for research and labour. The value of these codexes is incalculable. The greater part are membranous, many of them being palimpsests, others being written in purple having the sacred names inscribed in gold and silver, and all of them offering fields of discovery whereof students (many from England but more still from Germany) are not slow to take advantage. This library contains besides treasures of varied sorts, for here may be seen the baptismal certificate of Prince Charles Edward, the young pretender, dated “Roma, ultima Dicemb. 1720.” A most friendly and learned custodian, Don Antonio Spagnolo, is only too pleased to show the treasures committed to his charge and to explain everything relating to his priceless and loved books to all who are interested in such matters.

Opposite this library stands the old disused church of S. Pietro in Cattedra, with a statue of St Peter over the doorway, and some graceful windows of the cusped arched order belonging to the fourteenth century. Close to the Duomo again is the church of St Elena, containing some pictures by Falconetto, Felice Brusasorci, and Niccolŏ da Verona; but the chief interest attaching to this church is the tradition that Dante held here the conference in Latin in which he treated “of the elements of earth and water” (De duobus elementis terrae et acquae); if indeed that much disputed treatise is by him, a point much questioned in these days.

Passing round by the east front of the Duomo, and gazing again with admiration on the frieze running round the apse, a work which speaks so plainly of an earlier date than the interior of the church, we come to the Vescovado, or the Bishop’s Palace. This has been altered and rebuilt at various epochs, chiefly about the year 1356; and within its walls Bishop Ognibene received Pope Lucius III. who died here in 1185 when his successor Urban III. was immediately named in his stead. The doorway leading to the palace is a very beautiful bit of work, having the date MD.II. inscribed on it and said to be by Fra Giocondo of Verona. It is of a later date than the walls which support it on either side; and leads in its turn into a striking courtyard with columns and arches of the fanciful Cinquecento style. Inside the Episcopal Palace there is a beautiful predella in the chapel by Liberale consisting of three paintings which represent the Adoration of the Magi, the Nativity of our Lord, and the passing of the Blessed Virgin. There is also said to be a picture by Caroto in the palace, but this is kept in a room not generally shown to visitors.

Several palaces belonging to the old patrician families of Verona are to be found in the neighbourhood of the Duomo. In the Via Pigna stands the Palazzo Miniscalchi, the work of the great architect Michele San Micheli, and adorned externally with frescoes. These latter which have suffered outrageously at the hands of would-be restorers were originally by Torbido, and ranked as some of the best work he ever did in that way. The rest are by Giambattista Zeloti.

Not far from the Duomo stands the church of St Anastasia, a church that owes its being to the Dominicans, to Guglielmo da Castelbarco, to Alberto della Scala, and to Pietro Scaligero, bishop of Verona. This church is a beautiful example of the brick and marble work that abounds to such a remarkable extent in Verona, and dates from the second half of the thirteenth century. The façade of unfinished brickwork is rich in mouldings and decorations—equally of brick—and sets off the fine portal which leads into the

CHURCH OF ST ANASTASIA FROM THE ADIGE SHEWING THE HOUSES WHICH STOOD THERE BEFORE THE muraglioni, BUILT TO DEFEND THE TOWN AGAINST THE INUNDATIONS OF THE ADIGE, WERE ERECTED

CHURCH OF ST ANASTASIA FROM THE ADIGE SHEWING THE HOUSES WHICH STOOD THERE BEFORE THE muraglioni, BUILT TO DEFEND THE TOWN AGAINST THE INUNDATIONS OF THE ADIGE, WERE ERECTED

church, and which is bilateral. The great wooden double doors are very fine, and the carvings in marble, together with the frescoes in the lunettes above, give a sense of great richness and finish to this principal entrance of the church, in spite of the incomplete condition of the façade. The original plan was evidently to have faced it all with slabs of marble, or more probably with panels in relief, to some extent no doubt like those now seen at the side representing scenes from the life of St Peter Martyr. These latter however are of a later date than the brickwork of the façade, as is also the Renaissance ornamentation round the doors.

The interior is dignified and fine, consisting of a nave and two narrow side aisles, separated by twelve columns, and terminating in an apse of five divisions. The eye is at once caught, though not perhaps attracted, on entering by the holy water stoups, which consist of two humpbacked figures, grotesque in the extreme, and that stand one on each side immediately under the two first columns. The one to the left was carved by Gabriel Cagliari, the father of Paolo Veronese; the other on the right is the work of Alessandro Rossi, the father of the humpbacked painter, Giambattista Rossi known as “Gobbino,” and on it is inscribed the date of 1591. The Gothic vaulting of the building is fine, and had the frescoes that once covered it but remained to this day, the effect of colour and symmetry (which is striking even now when many of the frescoes have disappeared) would have been enhanced a hundredfold.

Several fine altars are ranged on either side of the church, many of them raised on classic lines; others again being a mixture of classic and Renaissance. The first altar on the right hand side, that of the Fregoso family, is Corinthian, and is reckoned by

Vasari as one of the finest in Italy. It was both designed and sculptured in 1565 by Danese Cattaneo. The second altar is adorned with a good deal of “finto bronzo,” and is a mixture of Renaissance and classical work that harmonises very happily. High up and hardly to be seen even with glasses is a fresco attributed to Mantegna. It is said to have been “executed with the utmost care”; but no judgment is possible in this case from below. The third altar is again one of those successful blendings of the Renaissance and classical styles, where rich carvings in marble and stone are shown off to untold advantage in their setting of severe lines. Here again we have to take on faith the statements as to some frescoes of Caroto of the date of 1470, though too high up for mortal sight or sense to presume to criticise. There is also here an entombment ascribed to Liberale. The fourth altar is built on the lines of the Arco de’ Gavi, and is of interest and service as setting before us, with very slight deviations, a model of that famous arch as it once stood close to Castel Vecchio. This altar was erected by Fiorio Pindemonte in the year 1539, and has a fine picture of St Martin, one of the last works of Gian Francesco Caroto.

The chapel known as that of the Crucifix is particularly interesting. It is entered under a beautiful archway of rich Lombardesque carving in red marble, and over the altar hangs a wooden image of our Lord on the Cross, of a very remote date, and by an unknown artist. On the left facing this crucifix is a most curious painted terra-cotta representation of the Entombment. The expression on the faces of all who are taking part in the sad and sacred task is marvellously given, and is full of character and feeling. Over the next altar belonging to the Centrago family is a picture, in a lovely frame of the same date, of the Madonna and Child, enthroned with St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas, by Francesco Morone (1474). It is also ascribed sometimes to Girolamo dai Libri. Very beautiful too is the decorative festoon of carved flowers round the altar. The Gothic tomb and the frescoes at the side belong probably to the same family; and no doubt the very attractive old couple whose portraits are at the bottom of the painting were the donors of all in that chapel. This same chapel, which stands in a kind of transept of the church, leads into one of the divisions of the apse where the Cappella Cavalli is. It is decorated with frescoes of a very early date, which have been in turn ascribed to Altichiero, Giotto, Morone, and Liberale, and representing knights of the Cavalli family kneeling before the Virgin and Child, with other warriors in attendance. Below the frescoes is the mausoleum of the knight Federigo Cavalli. There is also here a fine tryptich of our Lord in the centre, with St Jerome on one hand and St Gemignano on the other. In the niches are carved figures, with paintings in between by Liberale.

By the side of the Cavalli chapel stands that of the Pellegrini family, panelled with terra-cotta reliefs, the work of a German, in 1400, whose name is unknown. There is a fine figure of a pilgrim (a play upon the family name, and emblematical of their badge), who kneels in the corner with his hands clasped fast in prayer. The most precious thing in this chapel was a fresco by Pisanello, which fortunately is now being removed from a position where it could not be seen, and, worse still, where it was suffering from damp, to a place of safety in the sacristy. It represents St George about to mount his steed after he has slain the dragon and freed the princess.[44]

On the proper right of the high altar is a large equestrian statue of Cortesia Serego (1432), who was the brother-in-law of Antonio della Scala, and also his general. The florid decorations around the statue are of carved wood. The frescoes round that again are probably by Francesco Bonsignori, while those still higher up are sometimes ascribed to Stefano da Zevio

(1332). The adjoining chapel owned by the Lavagnoli family, though also known as that of St Anna, contains some frescoes, unfortunately much injured, in the style of Mantegna. The next chapel, that of the Salerno family, where there is a fine Gothic monument to Giovanni Salerno, is used as the belfry. What with the mass of hanging ropes, and the storage of church furniture that lumbers up most of this chapel, it is not easy to form a right opinion of some fine old frescoes said to belong to the first half of the fourteenth century, or to do more than lament the bad condition in which they are kept. In the sacristy stands the rescued fresco of St George by Pisanello, and a fine picture by Felice Brusasorci, while outside the sacristy are some frescoes by an unknown hand sadly retouched with startling colours. In the Capella del Rosario is a picture of the Madonna and Child between St Dominic and St Peter Martyr, with the portraits of Mastino II. della Scala and his wife, Taddea da Carrara, kneeling at the base of the picture on either side. The tradition that once ascribed this picture to Giotto has now been completely done away. The Flagellation here is by Ridolfi. The next chapel, that of the Miniscalchi family, is rich in Renaissance and classical decoration, and possesses a good picture by Giolfino of the Descent of the Holy Spirit (1518).

The remaining altars in the church have no objects that claim any special attention, and after a study of so much that is beautiful and absorbing, it is almost a relief to wander away, noting only once again the glory of the entire church, and observing with pleasure the very effective and simple design of the pavement at our feet in its threefold pattern of grey and red and white marble.

Immediately outside the church on the right hand side stands the tomb of Guglielmo da Castelbarco, the friend and councillor of Cangrande della Scala—and a friend too to Verona, in that it was his largess that contributed chiefly to the building of St Anastasia and of that of S. Fermo as well.

This munificent patron of Verona (who was besides its Podestă deserved to have what has been justly termed the most perfect monument in the city where the finest monuments existing in Italy are to be found. Ruskin indeed has pronounced it to be, “the most perfect Gothic monument in the world”; and again he alludes to it as “pure and lovely, my most beloved throughout all the length and breadth of Italy—chief as I think among all the sepulchral marbles of a land of mourning.”

Four columns of white marble surmounted by sculptured capitals bear the canopy, which is formed of a simple Gothic arch, richly cusped and adorned with a decorative piece of carving in harmony with the purity of style which marks the whole of the monument. Under the canopy lies the effigy of the dead magistrate, a recumbent figure laid on the top of a red marble sarcophagus, which rests in its turn on the backs of two couchant lions. The whole is bound together by bars of iron along whose surface a delicate tracery is outlined. An effect is thus obtained of wonderful strength and grace: for besides the sense of security given by these bars, the eye is carried along their linear decoration to observe still more forcibly the perfect symmetry and proportion of the monument. No name exists as to the author of this masterpiece, but in this case surely it may be asserted that the good he did is not interred with his bones, but that it lives after him, a beauty and a joy for ever.

Three other tombs stand beyond that of Guglielmo da Castelbarco and immediately outside the adjoining church of St Peter Martyr. The first is that of Guinicello de’ Principi of a noble family of Bologna, and bears the date of 1273; the next is that of Leonardo da Quinto, the learned jurisconsult alluded to in chapter vi., and one of the witnesses to Cansignorio’s will in 1375; the last is to a member of the Dussaimi family. Speaking of these tombs Ruskin says: “Whose they are is of little consequence to the reader or to me, and I have taken no pains to discover; their value being not in any evidence they bear respecting dates, but in their intrinsic merit as examples of composition. Two of them are within the gate, one on the top of it, and this latter is on the whole the best, though all are beautiful; uniting the intense northern energy in their figure sculpture with the most serene classical restraint in their outlines, and unaffected, but masculine simplicity of construction.”[45]

The small church of St Peter Martyr close by was once a part of the convent of St Anastasia. It was endowed by the Knights of Brandenburg, whom Cangrande II. summoned to his assistance in 1353, and of whom his special body-guard was formed. Some of the portraits of these knights can be seen in the paintings of their gracefully proportioned church, which was also enriched by several frescoes, the most remarkable being that of Falconetto above the high altar. This is a strange rendering under symbolical emblems of the Incarnation: the Blessed Virgin being seated in an enclosure with all manner of quaint beasts around her, while the Babe descends from Heaven in a halo of light. A crucifix said to be by Giotto, but of a far earlier date, hangs above Falconetto’s painting, and around are other frescoes by Badile. In front of the church of St Anastasia and at the side of that of St Peter Martyr is a statue in white Carrara marble to Paul Veronese; designed by Della Torre and executed by Romeo Cristiani. It was erected in 1888.

Following the Corso St Anastasia we come to the Piazza delle Erbe, the market-place of Verona, where chatter and merry gossip together with the sale of flowers, vegetables, plants, owls, birds, and other strange wares go on in as picturesque and original a setting as can be found anywhere. The whole of the

Piazza is spread with large white umbrellas, that look like unfinished tents, and that contrast admirably with the sea of colour which flows beneath, and which varies from the many tints worn by the chattering vendors to the hues of the fruits and flowers it behoves them to sell. In the early morning the bustle and stir is at its height; trade is brisker than at any other time, and the life and movement then going on give a character to the place, hardly to be imagined by those who see it for the first time in the afternoon, when the folded umbrellas, the silence and tidiness where all was business and animation, give no real or correct idea of the Piazza. The historical interest which centres round the Piazza delle Erbe is as great as its picturesque attraction. In the days of the Romans the Forum stood here, and the shape of the Piazza is still that of a circus, though the modern houses around have somewhat narrowed the “periferia.” Before the Amphitheatre was built it was here that the gladiatorial fights were held. At the northern end stands the column of St Mark, which was placed there as has been said at the period of the League of Cambray at the moment when Verona was restored to the rule of Venice. It is formed of a single block of marble, bearing aloft the winged lion, which represented for so many years the dominion of Venice over the town of Verona. This mark of supremacy, raised in 1524, was destroyed at the moment of “Les Pâques Véronaises” in 1797; but in 1888 it was replaced, no longer as a sign of thraldom or submission but a graceful homage to “the days that are no more.” Below the column stands the fountain erected according to some by King Alboin, according to others by King Pepin in 807, and for which Berengarius introduced the water supply in 916. Its use as a fountain was not however really brought about till Cansignorio in 1370 rearranged it on thoroughly working and practical lines. This water supply is probably obtained from one of the great thermae or baths of the Romans, and is surmounted by a statue in Greek marble known as “Madonna Verona.” According to an inscription now preserved in the Museo Lapidario this statue was placed in its present position in the days of the Emperor Theodosius (380) by the Consul Valerius Palladio. The motto in “Madonna Verona’s” hands is: “est justi latrix urbs haec, et laudis amatrix,” and was put there after the peace of Constance in 1183, the year in which Verona was declared free.

A little further down is the Tribune or “Berlina,” set up in 1207, from where public decrees were formulated and sentences of death were pronounced. Here too in the days of the Scaligers was the spot where they took their oath of office. The buildings around are for the most part of interest. Immediately to the north of St Mark’s column is the Palazzo Trezza (formerly Maffei) a fine block of masonry though of Barocco style—the upper part is very inferior—and containing inside a curious spiral staircase. Close by this palace stands the “Torre del Gardello” set up by Cansignorio, where in 1370 he placed the first clock that struck the hours in Verona. To the left looking down the Piazza, stands the Casa dei Mazzanti, where Albertino della Scala lived (1301), and decorated externally with frescoes by Alberto Cavalli of Mantua in the style of Guilio Romano. On the other side of the Piazza are houses with frescoes by Liberale and Girolamo dai Libri; and beyond them is the old house of merchandise, the Casa dei Mercanti of the year 1301, in red marble, now restored and still used as a Chamber of Commerce. Almost opposite it rises the grand tower of the Lamberti, or as it is sometimes called of the Municipio, to a height of 273 feet. There is hardly a guide-book to Verona that does not say that this tower was built by the Lamberti family; a statement however that has no confirmation in any of the archives or city documents, where no mention of even a family of the name of Lamberti belonging to Verona is to be met with.

CHAPTER VIII

glorious outer staircase leading to the first floor of the building where an exhibition of modern works of art is kept. The outline of a huge lion of St Mark is to be seen on the outside of the Palazzo della Ragione, which shared the same fate as the one of the column in the Piazza delle Erbe at the moment of “Les Pâques Véronaises.” The whole exterior of the palace bears marks of having undergone much restoration, most of which was done in the sixteenth century. Indeed there is not much in this Piazza which has not been repaired or altered at one time or another, and now and again it requires much care and study to make out the original design and material once used for the construction of this historic spot.[46]

On the other side of the Via Dante stands the battlemented tower of the Scaligers flanking the Palazzo Tribunalizio, where a tablet states that “Cansignorio della Scala, Podestă and Captain of the people from December 14, 1359, to October 10, 1375, when he died, built and inhabited this palace, which was remodelled in the sixteenth century into rooms for the Venetian Captaincy.” This tower with its forked battlements was at one time a handy prison-house for any who fell under the displeasure of the Scaligers. A doubtful legend runs that no less than four hundred prisoners (one writer says they were only fifty-three) were once confined within its walls, and that to the surprise of all who were not in the secret

OUTSIDE STAIRCASE, PUBLICO PALAZZO It is interesting to compare these two sketches. The first shows the staircase as it stood some four years ago with an upper colonnade of fine “Cinquecento” work. The second shows that work swept away, under the delusion that it was better to see the staircase in its original form.
OUTSIDE STAIRCASE, PUBLICO PALAZZO

It is interesting to compare these two sketches. The first shows the staircase as it stood some four years ago with an upper colonnade of fine “Cinquecento” work. The second shows that work swept away, under the delusion that it was better to see the staircase in its original form.

the whole number died “naturally” in one day! The further statement that they had all died of the same complaint gave a momentary alarm as to an outbreak

A doorway by the great architect, San Micheli leads into a courtyard where traces of lovely but fast vanishing frescoes show what glories once reigned around, and remind one that barbarous and cruel in many ways as the rulers of Verona were, they were not indifferent to the beautifying of their town, nor to that patronage of art which rightly or wrongly we associate with a noble nature.

On one side of the courtyard are some arches of pointed brick-work supported by stone columns with slightly decorated capitals, a work which was executed under the Venetian rule. Opposite is seen the Porta dei Bombardieri, an ugly erection of stone cannons, drums and implements of war which was set up in 1687. Inside this courtyard is a striking inscription in honour of Zaccaria Barbaro, who was the Podestă appointed by Venice over Verona during the latter half of the fifteenth century. It is recorded of him that he restored three castles in the city and several in the country, as well as changing the prætor’s house from wood to stone. His special claim to admiration, however lies in the fact that at a moment of scarcity of corn “he saw to relieving hunger, that he governed with integrity, administering equal rights to all, so that at the close of his office the people remembered him with tears, 1476.”

A way was opened out from this courtyard by the Commune in 1817, so as to give employment to the work people of the town, it being then a time of dire want. This way leads to a small public garden, used as a Botanical School, and that was formerly the garden of Cansignorio della Scala.

The next building of the Scaligers in the Piazza dei Signori is that built by Mastino I. (1272) and where

he and his descendants actually lived. It is now used as the Prefettura, and as in the Tribunale Guidiziario (built by Mastino’s brother, Alberto), little of the old buildings remain, and less still of the frescoes and decorations that once adorned them. It is known, and has been mentioned, that at Cangrande’s orders Giotto decorated much of this home of the Scalas, that portraits of Dante, of Uguccione della Faggiuola, and other illustrious men were drawn by him here. No trace however remains either of his work, or of that of Altichiero who is also said to have worked here, to convey even an idea of what was once to be seen.

At right angles with this former residence of the lords of Verona stands the Palazzo del Consiglio, or old Town hall, more often called La Loggia di Fra Giocondo, though critics are not agreed as to whether he designed the Loggia or whether it is the work of Antonio Riccio, or Rizzo, a Veronese. It is generally attributed to Fra Giocondo, and is a most perfect and beautiful example of Renaissance style. It was erected by order of the Venetian Republic in 1497, and is reckoned as one of the loveliest buildings of that time in the North of Italy. It is a pity that a good deal of unnecessary gilding was added in 1873 when the building underwent some restoration. High up on the corner pillar to the left is to be seen a figure in a monk’s dress, which without sufficient warrant is accepted as that of Fra Giocondo; while above are statues of the men who by their learning or deeds have brought celebrity to themselves and to Verona—Catullus; Cornelius Nepos; Pliny the younger; Vitruvius Cerdo; and others. Within the Loggia are two figures in bronze by Girolamo Campagna, which formerly stood outside and which represent the Annunciation. Around are busts of men who have deserved well of their town in modern days. The original design to carry on the Renaissance work of this Palace all along the same side of the square was never fulfilled, and the archway which carries on its topmost height a statue of Fracastoro, the eminent poet and physician, closes the line of marked and beautiful architecture. The building on the other side of this beautiful archway leads to another archway in brick over which is a statue of the Marchese Scipione Maffei, the historian (d. 1755). Passing under this archway into the Via Mazzanti is a lovely old fountain bearing the date of 1478 on the architrave. It is composed chiefly of the red marble from Sant’ Ambrogio (a few miles outside Verona), and is as good and perfect a specimen of its kind as can be seen anywhere. Almost opposite this fountain or well in the Via Rosa is a strange Latin inscription which records an important gift to the town by a member of the grand old Roman family de’ Gavi. It tells how this noble patrician brought an acqueduct through Verona right over to the left bank of the Adige; an undertaking for which he had to pay the sum of 500,000 sertices. A noble and generous gift when we reflect that such a sum would nowadays represent some £5000. Between the Volto Barbaro and the Via la Costa is a fine brick building, now much defaced by decorations of the seventeenth century. It was originally designed in 1273 as a palace for “i Giudici assessori,” but an earthquake in 1511 partly ruined it and modern alterations have reduced it to its present condition.

Crossing the Piazza again past the Palace of the Tribunes, we come at once to the church of St Maria Antica and the Tombs of the Scaligers. It is well to enter for a moment into the small, dim Lombardic church of St Maria Antica, the church used by the Scaligers as their private chapel, and around which they elected to have their burial ground. The church was built originally by the monks of St Oliveto, and dates from about the year 1000. Its restoration done in recent times, though it has left probably little of the original building, has been carried out with taste and judgment. The stern, simple lines of the arches, the stone capitals and pillars are effective and dignified, and act as a fitting preparation for the grand monuments which stand outside, and which merit

the closest study. The first is that of Francesco della Scala, better known as Cangrande, whose rule as sole lord after his brother Albono’s death lasted from 1311 to 1329. His monument stands over the entrance to the church, and is surmounted by a gracefully cusped canopy, on the top of which is placed an equestrian statue of the greatest of the Della Scala family. A marble sarcophagus rests under the canopy, upheld by four lovely columns with Corinthian capitals, and on the sarcophagus is stretched a recumbent figure of Cangrande, “with hands clasped fast as if still in prayer.” His effigy above on horseback is that of a knight in armour; his horse clad too for battle. He holds a huge sword in his hand, his helm is flung far back behind his shoulders. The rider turns his face towards you and smiles, an indication it may be that Death, for whom he had no fear while yet in this life, has equally no dread for him now that he is to meet him face to face. The tomb rests on the figures of two great mastiffs, apt emblems of the “Cangrande” who sleeps above, and who support with doglike fidelity the shields emblazoned with ladders (scala) committed to their charge.

The other tombs all stand in a piece of enclosed ground round the church, and are fenced in with a railing of beautiful wrought ironwork, buckled together so as to be shaken easily by the hand, and adorned at every point with the family device of the ladder. The first tomb inside this small cemetery is that of Mastino I., the founder of the family, who rests under a plain marble sarcophagus, whereon is carved a cross, and where are engraved not only the Scala arms, but those too of Antonio Nogarola, who was with Mastino at the moment when he was assassinated, and who shared the same fate, and evidently the same grave. Beyond that is the tomb of Mastino’s brother, Alberto I., who died in 1301. This too is of red marble, but much more ornamented than the first, where besides a relief of Alberto kneeling before the Blessed Virgin, are other reliefs of palm branches, heraldic devices, griffins, birds, and so forth. But the monuments which claim especial attention after that of Cangrande I., are those of Mastino II., and of his son Consignorio. These are likewise formed of three stories, having the equestrian statue above the apex, and the recumbent figure laid upon the sarcophagus. Each however is in its turn more decorated, richer in design and carving, and more elaborate both as to conception and execution than that of the “Great Dog.” The tomb of Mastino II. is by one Perino of Milan, and the bold, fine way in which the architect has planned and carried out his work proves him to have been a master of his art. His plan of placing the pyramid or apex with the horse and his rider on the four pillars of Verona marble is very striking; while the perfect way in which these shafts bear the weight laid on them is a model of skill and of beauty. On the façades of the arches are high reliefs representing Old Testament characters; and the bas-reliefs on the stone coffin are equally taken from Old Testament stories. Mastino is shown with his vizor drawn and his features completely hidden from view. As has been seen in Mastino’s history, his actions were not always honourable, nor his expeditions always successful. The legend (alluded to in chapter iv.) as to his never having shown his face again, even to his wife Taddea da Carrara, after the murder of the bishop Bartolomeo della Scala (1338), would seem to have taken shape in his monument, and his desire as to concealing his features even after death was evidently respected to the end.

In the north-east corner of the little cemetery stands the most gorgeous of the Scaliger tombs. It is that of Cansignorio, and was raised by him during his lifetime, the architect and sculptor being Bonino da Campiglione. This monument far exceeds that of Cangrande I. and Mastino II. in exuberance of ornamentation and in richness of detail. Cansignorio was evidently determined to atone for the lack of godliness and goodness in his nature by an ostentatious display of saintly characters and saintly actions about his tomb. As has been shown, he was cunning, ambitious, and cruel, and a fratricide twice told. He had nevertheless no hesitation in causing himself to be represented as being received by our Lord and His mother in an

attitude of devotion, and probably had no misgivings as to the eventful fulfilment of the scene thus given. The monument is hexagonal, supported on six columns; the canopy and apex are of Verona marble, of the kind known as “mandolato,” while the inside dome of the canopy is painted with gold stars on a blue ground. Six figures of warrior saints on square pilasters keep watch over this lord of Verona (who some writers say was neither a saint nor a warrior) and are St Quirinus, St Valentine, St George, St Sigismund, St Martin, and St Louis. Above them again are the figures of Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence, Justice, and Fortitude; while to crown the whole is the effigy of Cansignorio himself on horseback, with his vizor raised and the “scala” on his breast. This badge of the family is brought in at every possible

Very beautiful also is the tomb of Giovanni della Scala, an illegitimate member of the family, and Vicar-General of Vicenza. His remains, first buried in the church of St Fermo Minore, were afterwards brought here, and laid to rest with every honour, and in a manner befitting such impressive surroundings. These monuments are Gothic in style, and may justly rank among the finest things that the fourteenth century has produced in this way. It must be borne in mind that they were fashioned before Verrocchio and Donatello had executed the works which were to astonish the world, and model for after generations the types of equestrian statues which were to serve as guides for all ages to come. It will be well to refresh our memories with Ruskin’s beautiful words as to these tombs, words which were poured forth in all the glow of admiration and enthusiasm over objects he loved so well, and which he describes in language which cannot be heard too often.

“At Verona, where the great Pisan school had strong influence, the monumental sculpture is immeasurably finer than at Venice; and so early as about the year 1335, the consummate form of the Gothic tomb occurs in the monument of Cangrande della Scala at Verona. It is set over the portal of the chapel anciently belonging to the family. The sarcophagus is sculptured with shallow bas-reliefs representing (which is rare in the tombs with which I am acquainted in Italy, unless they are those of saints), the principal achievements of the warrior’s life, especially the siege of Vicenza and battle of Piacenza; these sculptures, however, form little more than a chased and roughened groundwork for the fully relieved statues representing the Annunciation, projecting boldly from the front of the sarcophagus. Above, the lord of Verona is laid in his long robe of civil dignity, wearing the simple bonnet, consisting merely of a fillet bound round the brow, knotted and falling on the shoulder. He is laid as asleep; his arms crossed upon his body, and his sword by his side. Above him, a bold arched canopy is sustained by two projecting shafts, and on the pinnacle of its roof is the statue of the knight on his war-horse; his helmet, dragon-winged and crested with the dog’s head, tossed back behind his shoulders, and the broad and blazoned drapery floating back from his horse’s breast,—so truly drawn by the old workman from the life, that it seems to wave in the wind, and the knight’s spear to shake, and his marble horse to be evermore quickening its pace, and starting into heavier and hastier charge, as the silver clouds float fast behind it in the sky.

“Now observe, in this tomb as much concession is made to the pride of man as may ever consist with honour, discretion, or dignity. I do not enter into any question respecting the character of Can Grande, though there can be little doubt that he was one of the best among the nobles of his time; but that is not to our purpose. It is not the question whether his wars were just, or his greatness honourably achieved; but whether, supposing them to have been so, these facts are well and gracefully told upon his tomb. And I believe there can be no hesitation in the admission of its perfect feeling and truth. Though beautiful, the tomb is so little conspicuous or intrusive that it serves only to decorate the portal of the little chapel, and is hardly regarded by the traveller as he enters. When it is examined, the history of the acts of the dead is found subdued into dim and minute ornament upon his coffin; and the principal aim of the monument is to direct the thoughts to his image as he lies in death, and to the expression of his hope of resurrection; while, seen as by the memory, far away, diminished in the brightness of the sky, there is set the likeness of his armed youth, stately, as it stood of old in the front of battle, and meet to be thus recorded for us, that we may now be able to remember the dignity of the frame, of which those who once looked upon it hardly remembered that it was dust.

“This, I repeat, is as much as may ever be granted, but this ought always to be granted to the honour and affection of men. The tomb which stands beside that of Can Grande, nearest it in the little field of sleep, already shows the traces of erring ambition. It is the tomb of Mastino II., in whose reign began the decline of his family. It is altogether exquisite as a work of art; and the evidence of a less wise or noble feeling in its design is found only in this, that the image of a virtue, Fortitude, as belonging to the dead, is placed on the extremity of the sarcophagus, opposite to the Crucifixion. But for this slight circumstance, of which the significance will only be appreciated as we examine the series of later monuments, the composition of this monument of Can Mastino would have been as perfect as its decoration is refined. It consists, like that of Can Grande, of the raised sarcophagus, bearing the recumbent statue, protected by a noble four-square canopy, sculptured with ancient scripture history. On one side of the sarcophagus is Christ enthroned, with Can Mastino kneeling before Him; on the other, Christ is represented in the mystical form, half-rising from the tomb, meant, I believe, to be at once typical of His passion and resurrection. The lateral panels are occupied by statues of the saints. At one extremity of the sarcophagus is the Crucifixion; at the other, a noble statue of Fortitude, with a lion’s skin thrown over her shoulders, its head forming a shield upon her breast, her flowing hair bound with a narrow fillet, and a three-edged sword in her gauntleted right hand, drawn back sternly behind her thigh, while in her left, she bears high the shield of the Scalas.

“Close to this monument is another, the stateliest and most sumptuous of the three; it first arrests the eye of the stranger, and long detains it—a many pinnacled pile, surrounded by niches with statues of the warrior saints.

“It is beautiful, for it still belongs to the noble time, the latter part of the fourteenth century; but its work is coarser than that of the other, and its pride may well prepare us to learn that it was built for himself, in his own life-time, by the man whose statue crowns it, Can Signorio della Scala. Now observe, for this is infinitely significant. Can Mastino II. was feeble and wicked, and began the ruin of his house; his sarcophagus is the first which bears upon it the image of a Virtue, but he lays claim only to Fortitude. Can Signorio was twice a fratricide, the last time when he lay upon his death-bed: his tomb bears upon its gables the images of six Virtues—Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence, and (I believe) Justice and Fortitude.”[47]

Not far from “le Arche degli Scaligeri,” and going towards the Piazza Indipendenza is a beautiful example of an old house, dating perhaps from the year 1000. Though it is in a dreadful state of neglect and dirt (it is now used for stabling humble vehicles and ponies), the beauty of the brickwork and of different styles of arches—some round, some pointed—is very apparent. The old wooden forked battlements are very uncommon and interesting; and a legend which says that the house was once that of Romeo is so apposite we would fain believe it to be true even while knowing it to be altogether impossible.

CHAPTER IX

Via Cappello—San Fermo—Museo Civico and Picture Gallery

A little further down the street and on the same side stands the Biblioteca Comunale, where precious volumes and manuscripts are stored in laudable order, and where the kindness and courtesy of the officials makes it a pleasure to study and hunt among the treasures so freely placed at one’s disposal. Close beside it is the disused church of St Sebastian; and but a short way further on is the Arco dei Leoni, a Roman ruin, said to have been part of Gallienus’s wall, and worthy of a better place and surrounding. A tinsmith’s shop is all around it, and zinc baths and tin wares and utensils hang beside the fine columns and architraves that are lost in so incongruous a setting. That this grand old ruin was once one of the gateways into the town seems probable; but archæologists are divided as to its exact origin and purpose, and only agree in claiming for it without hesitation a very remote antiquity. Other houses in this street, now called Via Leoni, have traces of Roman architecture, often stowed away in inner courtyards, and evidently proving of more interest to the passing prying stranger than to the owner and inhabitant.

The church of S. Fermo Maggiore is close at hand; one of the four finest churches of Verona, and beautiful from whichever side we approach it. It is another example of the blending of brick and marble peculiar to Verona; and while studying the harmonious fusion of these materials it is interesting to observe the different periods of building and the different dates that have left their mark on the construction of this noble edifice. The façade, the presbytery, and the belfry are fine examples of the Lombard-Gothic style; and the approach to the principal entrance up a flight of stairs, with tombs, niches, windows around, and a deep portal above is very impressive. To the left of the entrance is the tomb of Aventino Fracastoro, the physician of Cangrande (1350). This monument, of great beauty, consists in true Veronese fashion of the sarcophagus supported on brackets, placed under a canopy. On the other side is another canopy, looking as though intended for a tomb, but of smaller dimensions than the one above-mentioned, and placed there

for no reason that has yet been discovered. The actual church of S. Fermo dates from about the year 1065, but the oldest part of it is the crypt which boasts of a very great antiquity. From the archæologist’s and historian’s point of view the chief interest attaching to S. Fermo centres round this crypt, and they ascribe some portions of it to at least the second half of the eighth century. The different styles of architecture and of fresco-painting in this subterranean church are of all-engrossing matter; and hours might be spent here pondering over the ascendancy of Greek, Roman, Lombard, and Christian art, and deciphering the unmistakable signs that tell how, even in the ninth century, this lower church was decorated with the crude and primitive paintings then coming into vogue. The carvings representing in rude outline the cross in various shape, the fish, and other allegorical symbols point, as far as date is concerned, to a very early period of Christianity, and confirm the generally accepted belief that the crypt was the work of the very first Christians, and built at the moment of the suppression of paganism.

To return however to the church. The interior is striking and beautiful. It consists of a single nave; no aisles are included in the plan, and it is crowned by a magnificent roof made of larch, and shaped like the ribbing of a ship, with paintings and carvings introduced at every possible coign of vantage. The church was first built for the Benedictines in the eleventh century as has been said. Two hundred years later it was transferred to the Franciscans, and it underwent considerable additions and alterations both at their hands, and again in the early part of the fourteenth century. These works were largely helped on by the piety and generosity of Daniele Gusman, the prior of S. Fermo, and by Guglielmo da Castelbarco who, as has been seen, did so much for St Anastasia, and whose tomb standing outside that church has already been described. Here too his memory has been perpetuated in a fresco over the archway to the right and left of the high altar, where he on one side, and Prior Gusman on the other are represented “offering willingly to the Lord.” The doubt as to who is the author of these frescoes is still unsolved. For a long time they were attributed to Giotto; and though Crowe and Cavalcaselle say that none of his work done in S. Fermo is left, they admit that the fresco of Castelbarco presenting the church of S. Fermo is by a different hand to the other frescoes in the church—these latter being all by Veronese masters.

Over the doorway of the main entrance—a door by the way very rarely opened, and to get into the church one must go to the one on the left hand side—is a fresco of the Crucifixion, ascribed first to Cimabue, then to Giotto, and though by neither of them, is at the same time the work of some very early master. To the left of this entrance, and above an ugly mausoleum to the Brenzoni family, is a most beautiful fresco by Vittore Pisanello, and according to Layard, his only fresco-painting, besides the one at St Anastasia, yet remaining in Verona. The subject is the Annunciation, very gracefully and effectively treated, and with some very beautiful architectural drawing around the Madonna. Further on are more frescoes of the fourteenth century, which have not been long discovered, among them being a striking one of the Crucifixion. Close by is the Chapel of the Sacrament, where hangs the masterpiece of Gian Francesco Caroto. It is described as follows by Layard:—“His (Caroto’s) best existing work is an altarpiece in the church of S. Fermo Maggiore (Verona), representing the Virgin and Child and St Anne in glory, with four saints

beneath, signed and dated 1528. It is grandly conceived, powerful in colour, giving the impression that he had seen and been influenced by Bernardino Luini; the Madonna is a beautiful woman with a tender and gentle expression; the Child less pleasing; the heads of SS. Roch and John are especially fine.”[49]

The fresco over a small door leading into the Torriani chapel is by Francesco Bonsignori, signed and dated 1484; and inside the chapel is the tomb raised by Girolamo della Torre, and said to be one of the most precious works of art preserved in S. Fermo. This may doubtless be so for those who first of all are fortunate enough to find some means whereby they can obtain sufficient light to view this treasure; and who secondly are content to be put off with copies of the original. For the bronze bas-reliefs which once decorated this tomb were carried off to Paris, where they are still preserved at the Louvre, and copies supplement the place they once filled. What is left is however pronounced by all who have seen it to be of great merit, and worthy of the designer and artist, Andrea Riccio of Padua.

Several interesting examples of the Veronese school are to be found in this church. In the chapel after that of the Delia Torre family is a good “Adoration” by Orbetto, fine in tone and colour, though the grouping is a little confused and overcrowded. In the chapel dedicated to St Anthony is a picture by Liberale of “St Anthony in Glory,” showing, according to Mr Selwyn Brinton, the improvement gained by him after he came “under the influence of the mighty Mantegna, when a greater conception of art seems to strike him.”[50] In one of the chapels beside the high altar is a fine Crucifixion by Domenico Brusasorci. The Alighieri chapel is more or less on the lines of the Arco de’ Gavi, and was erected by Francesco, the last lineal male descendant of Dante, who with two or three other members of the family, is buried here. The picture over the altar is by Battista del Moro.

A fact that is of botanic interest is to be met with here in the epigraph below the organ to Francesco Calceolari. He was the first botanist who ever made his mark in Verona, and his name at all events suggests some connection with the flower whose gaudy colours were once in such request for the bedding-out garden.

Immediately below the sacristy is the marble sarcophagus erected by the citizens of Verona to the memory of Torello Saraina, who, as has been said, wrote the first printed history of the town, and whose opinion and authority on Veronese antiquities and monuments is of great weight and value. The Saraina chapel standing beside the tomb was erected by the historian himself, and dedicated by him to the Trinity, to the Virgin, and to the Archangel Raphael. It contains a fine painting by Torbido over the altar, a Madonna and Child in the clouds, with the Archangel and Tobias below. According to Morelli, this work makes Torbido worthy to be compared with the elder Bonifazio. The coffin containing the ashes of Saraina was probably removed to the side (where it stands resting on two turrets of marble) when the chapel was arranged for the celebration of the Mass. Saraina died May 8, 1550. That he was a patron of art as well as a man of letters is proved by the fact that not only did he order the fine picture painted by Torbido for the Saraina chapel, but that the house he inhabited in the Via della Stella was also by his desire decorated with frescoes by the same master.

The pulpit is a beautiful bit of fourteenth century work. It is rich in marbles, and has many good designs surmounted with frescoes that for many years were supposed to be the work of Stefano da Zevio. Recent investigations, however, have proved them to be by Martini, whose signature upon them has also come to light.

The patron saint of the church is S. Fermo, who together with S. Rustico, suffered martyrdom early in the fourth century. Their bodies first buried in the crypt were afterwards placed under the high altar in the church, where they were at all events safe from those inundations of the Adige that so often wrought havoc to the town, and that in their impetuosity respected neither saint nor sanctuary. The festival of the martyred saints is held on the 9th of August.

The beautiful exterior of the apse and belfry can be well seen and studied on the way to the Palazzo Pompei. This palace contains the Museo Civico and the Picture Gallery, and stands on the other side of the Adige. The way to it lies across the Ponte delle Navi, a modern bridge built to replace the one set up in 1373 by Cansignorio, which was swept away in the inundation of 1757.

It must seem ungracious on the part of a visitor, and of one too who has received much kindness and courtesy in the town, to complain of the arrangements and methods customary in the public buildings of Verona. But the way in which the works of art are kept and treated is lamentable in the extreme, and the disregard and indifference as to those treasures cannot but evoke feelings of surprise, indignation, and regret. The Palazzo Pompei, a fine Doric building designed by San Micheli, was bequeathed by its late owner to the city for a picture gallery; and that it was never built or intended for the purpose to which it is now put may perhaps serve as some excuse for its total inadequacy. The rooms are small; the windows so placed that a great deal of light falls on some pictures leaving others in darkness, and threatening besides to ruin paintings exposed for hours on bright days to a flood of unmitigated and uncurtained sunshine.

The ground-floor consists of a collection of the most varied kind: there are Etruscan and Roman remains; prehistoric antiquities from the Lake of Garda; marble vases and sculptures, coins, utensils belonging to the prehistoric, bronze, and iron ages; mediæval statues in stone and in bronze; a large array of capitals, columns, and fragments of buildings and fortifications that have been dug up at recent excavations and brought here, and casts of modern works. The great inundation of the Adige in 1882, which is answerable for so much damage in Verona is also held responsible for the state of disorder to which this heterogeneous mass is reduced. The flood disarranged the Museum; and time and money do not yet seem to have been found wherewith to repair the mischief then caused.

The pictures are on the first floor, and are for the most part the works of Veronese masters. The first room, known as the Sala Bernasconi, has a fine but faded picture by Paolo Farinato (No. 13) of Christ shown to the multitude. No. 32 is an early but graceful work by Titian of the Madonna and Child and St John. No. 34, a Madonna and Child, and St John the Baptist with two angels, is said to be by Perugino; and much of it probably is by him, the rest by one of his pupils.

Room II. has several good pictures, though not all are by the artists to whom they are ascribed. No. 86, for instance, is a lovely Presentation in the Temple, with a forged signature of Gian Bellini. No. 88 is a Holy Family by Andrea del Sarto, but so cleaned as

to leave little of the original. No. 90 is a Madonna and Child that from its likeness to the fresco in S. Fermo is said to be by Pisanello. No. 92 a Madonna, Francesco Caroto, restored and hard. No. 97, a powerful and authentic portrait by Antonio Moro. No. 120, a Madonna and Child with St Joseph by Perugino. No. 121, a graceful Annunciation by Garofolo. No. 155, a Madonna and Child with two Saints by Francia; a picture full of the charm that this Bolognese master rarely fails to exercise. Nos. 112, 108, and 154, are all by Caroto, though in his earlier rather than in his best and later manner. Other pictures in this room are by good masters but hung so high that all effort to judge of them is vain.

CHAPTER VIII

CHAPTER IX Via Cappello—San Fermo—Museo Civico and Picture Gallery

CHAPTER IX

Via Cappello—San Fermo—Museo Civico and Picture Gallery