Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(many of whom would never consider going to the opera) is quite thrilling. On
Mondays and during the Opera Season, admissions run 1:30 to 7:15pm.
The Castle & Other Churches
Verona's main art museum,
Museo Castelvecchio
5
(Corso Castelvecchio, 2;
%
0495-8062611;
€
4; Tues-Sun 8:30am-7:30pm, Mon 1:30-7:30pm),
is less than
10 minutes by foot south from the Arena, at the end of Via Roma. Built on a bank
of the River Adige between 1355 and 1375, Castelvecchio is very much a castle,
and served as both a military fortress (to ward against foreign invasion and pop-
ular uprisings) and a residence for the various rulers of Verona before being trans-
formed into a museum in the 1920s. Attacked by the Nazis during World War II,
the structure you see today is a meticulous restoration by acclaimed Venetian
architect Carlos Scarpa, who not only repaired the damage done by bombs but
also by the 1920s restoration—when ugly Gothic and Romanesque features were
added.
I'd proceed briskly through the first few rooms of the museum, which feature
fairly prosaic Roman and early-Christian art, glasswork, and jewelry. It's the fierce
attempts at realism of the early-Renaissance painters that are the glories of this
museum, notably in the works of Tintoretto, Tiepolo, Veronese, and Bellini,
which you'll see throughout. As well, give some time to the Venetian painters fea-
tured in the
Pisanello Room (Room 10),
many of them combining a sense of
Gothic refinement with Byzantine embellishments. Note in particular how the
background of Gothic rocks in Jacopo Bellini's
Saint Jerome in the Desert
heavily
suggests the appearance of the Dolomite mountain ranges. Upstairs, the picture
galleries continue, and although I feel that there's way too much to take in, there
are several wonderful works worth seeking. Among them are Francesco
Bonsignori's
Madonna and Child,
executed when he was just 20 years old; and
Girolamo dai Libri's colorful
Madonna of the Umbrella
(which suggests that dog-
gie parlors were already in vogue during the 16th c.).
Room 22
is where you'll
find works by Venice's great masters, Tintoretto and Veronese.
From Castelvecchio, it's a short walk—mostly along the River Adige—to get
to the remarkable
Basilica San Zeno Maggiore
(Piazza San Zeno, 2;
%
045-
592813; Mar-Oct Mon-Sat 8:30am-6pm, Sun 1-6pm; Nov-Feb Tues-Sat 10am-
4pm, Sun 1:30-5pm),
a mammoth 12th-century church featuring quintessential
Romanesque striped brickwork, and dedicated to Verona's patron saint, San Zeno,
whose remains are preserved inside in a downstairs crypt. San Zeno hailed from
Africa and was the city's bishop in the 4th century. Before entering, spend some
time giving your attention to the lovely facade, with its fantastic “Wheel of
Fortune” rose window above the entrance. The doors themselves are particularly
noteworthy. Made of wood, they're plated with 48 bronze panels featuring bibli-
cal scenes and important moments from San Zeno's life. Thrown into the mix are
more bizarre images of dubious origin and meaning; see if you can figure out what
that woman is doing with those two crocodiles attached to her breasts! Above the
doorway is a relief sculpture in which the saint can be seen overcoming Satan. On
either side of the doorway are splendidly ornate relief carvings, helping to make
this one of the most celebrated Romanesque churches in Italy.
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