Description
The Scaliger Tombs are the monumental tombs of the Della Scala family, the lords of Verona in the 14th century. They stand next to the little church of Santa Maria Antica, a few steps from Piazza dei Signori. They are a Gothic funerary complex: the historian Georges Duby called them one of the most significant monuments of Gothic art.
The highlight is the tomb of Cangrande I, above the side door of the church, held up by dogs bearing his banner. Cangrande, the lord of Verona to whom Dante dedicated the Paradiso, lies on the sarcophagus, perhaps already dead, but smiling. The same smile returns in the equestrian statue on top of the canopy.
On the sarcophagus, the bas-reliefs tell of his conquests city by city: Padua, Vicenza, Belluno, Feltre, Treviso. On the back is Verona with its walls, the Arena and the basilica of San Zeno. It is a map of his power carved in stone.
The cemetery enclosure is closed off by a wrought-iron fence crowned with statues, with the ladder motif, the family's symbol, repeated everywhere. The earliest Scaligers, instead, rest in simple sarcophagi lined up along the wall of the church.
It was Mastino II, who had conquered Brescia, Parma and Lucca, who decided the family deserved more. He had Cangrande's tomb redone, surrounded the cemetery with the fence and prepared his own tomb: four high reliefs with scenes from Genesis, Mastino serene in the sleep of death and above, on horseback, encased in armor.
The last was Cansignorio, whose rule ended in 1375 after years of murders and plots. For his tomb, carved by Bonino da Campione, he spent ten thousand florins: it is the richest tomb, hexagonal in plan, with six warrior saints in the niches at the corners, cherubs around the sarcophagus and the apostles on the pillar that holds up the equestrian statue.
On that tomb Cansignorio had it written that he could have been monarch of many cities of Italy. The other Scaligers rest in simpler sarcophagi: Mastino I, Alberto I, Bartolomeo I, Alboino, Cangrande II and Giovanni.
Don't miss
• The tomb of Cangrande I.
• The wrought-iron fence.
• The tomb of Cansignorio.
Did you know?
• Cangrande's equestrian statue on top is a copy: the original is in the Castelvecchio museum, on a pedestal designed by Carlo Scarpa.
• Cangrande's original sarcophagus, carved in Romanesque style with Byzantine influences, is still inside the enclosure: the one at the top was made later.
• The tomb of Giovanni della Scala, by Andriolo de Santi, was in another church until 1831, before being moved here.
The highlight is the tomb of Cangrande I, above the side door of the church, held up by dogs bearing his banner. Cangrande, the lord of Verona to whom Dante dedicated the Paradiso, lies on the sarcophagus, perhaps already dead, but smiling. The same smile returns in the equestrian statue on top of the canopy.
On the sarcophagus, the bas-reliefs tell of his conquests city by city: Padua, Vicenza, Belluno, Feltre, Treviso. On the back is Verona with its walls, the Arena and the basilica of San Zeno. It is a map of his power carved in stone.
The cemetery enclosure is closed off by a wrought-iron fence crowned with statues, with the ladder motif, the family's symbol, repeated everywhere. The earliest Scaligers, instead, rest in simple sarcophagi lined up along the wall of the church.
It was Mastino II, who had conquered Brescia, Parma and Lucca, who decided the family deserved more. He had Cangrande's tomb redone, surrounded the cemetery with the fence and prepared his own tomb: four high reliefs with scenes from Genesis, Mastino serene in the sleep of death and above, on horseback, encased in armor.
The last was Cansignorio, whose rule ended in 1375 after years of murders and plots. For his tomb, carved by Bonino da Campione, he spent ten thousand florins: it is the richest tomb, hexagonal in plan, with six warrior saints in the niches at the corners, cherubs around the sarcophagus and the apostles on the pillar that holds up the equestrian statue.
On that tomb Cansignorio had it written that he could have been monarch of many cities of Italy. The other Scaligers rest in simpler sarcophagi: Mastino I, Alberto I, Bartolomeo I, Alboino, Cangrande II and Giovanni.
Don't miss
• The tomb of Cangrande I.
• The wrought-iron fence.
• The tomb of Cansignorio.
Did you know?
• Cangrande's equestrian statue on top is a copy: the original is in the Castelvecchio museum, on a pedestal designed by Carlo Scarpa.
• Cangrande's original sarcophagus, carved in Romanesque style with Byzantine influences, is still inside the enclosure: the one at the top was made later.
• The tomb of Giovanni della Scala, by Andriolo de Santi, was in another church until 1831, before being moved here.