Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1457-59
Majesty of the Virgin
altarpiece, painted with such astonishing perspective that
you actually believe there are garlands of fresh fruit hanging behind the Madonna's
throne.
Under the
rose window
depicting the Wheel of Fortune you'll find meticulously detailed
12th-century
bronze doors
, including a scene of an exorcism with a demon being yanked
from a woman's mouth. An eerie
crypt
is located beneath the main altar, with faces carved
into medieval capitals and St Zeno's corpse glowing in a transparent sarcophagus.
DUOMO
( 045 59 28 13;
www.chieseverona.it
; Piazza Duomo; adult/reduced €2.50/2, or with VeronaCard;
10am-5.30pm Mon-Sat, 1.30-5.30pm Sun Mar-Oct, 10am-1pm & 1.30-5pm Tue-Sat, 1.30-5pm Sun Nov-Feb)
Ver-
ona's 12th-century cathedral is a striking, striped Romanesque building, with bug-eyed
statues of Charlemagne's paladins Roland and Oliver, crafted by medieval master Nicolò,
on the west porch. Nothing about this sober facade hints at the extravagant 16th- to 17th-
century frescoed interior with angels aloft amid
trompe l'oeil
architecture. At the left end
of the nave is the
Cartolari-Nichesola Chapel
, designed by Renaissance master Jacopo Sanso-
vino and featuring a vibrant Titian
Assumption
.
CATHEDRAL
BASILICA DI SANT'ANASTASIA
MAP
BASILICA
GOOGLE MAP
(
www.chieseverona.it
; Piazza di Sant'Anastasia; adult/reduced €6/2, or entry with VeronaCard; 9am-6pm Tue-Sat,
1-6pm Sun Mar-Oct, 1.30-5pm Tue-Sat, 1-5pm Sun Nov-Feb)
Dating from the 13th to the 15th centuries,
the Gothic Sant'Anastasia is Verona's largest church and a showcase for local art. The
multitude of frescoes is overwhelming, but don't overlook Pisanello's storybook-quality
fresco
St George Setting out to Free the Princess from the Dragon
in the
Pisanelli Chapel
, or
the 1495 holy-water font featuring a hunchback carved by Paolo Veronese's father, Gabri-
ele Caliari.
TEATRO ROMANO E MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO
MAP
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
GOOGLE MAP
( 045 800 03 60; Regaste Redentore 2; adult/reduced €4.50/3, or with VeronaCard; 8.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sun,
1.30-7.30pm Mon)
Just north of the historic centre you'll find a
Roman theatre
. Built in the 1st
century BC, it is cunningly carved into the hillside at a strategic spot overlooking a bend
in the river. Take the lift at the back of the theatre to the former convent above, which
houses an interesting collection of Greek and Roman artefacts.
GIARDINO GIUSTI
GARDEN
