Verona Medievale

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We are in Medieval Verona, back to the age of the Scaligeri family.
After a century marked by the strengthening of communal institutions, foundations had been laid for the establishment of the Della Scala Seigniory in town, whose rule would connote that period to such an extent that it is still an essential feature of the Veronese identity today.
Our guide is a person of excellence: Cansignorio, one of the last members of the ruling Seigniory of the town that historians have recently acknowledged as a powerful military and economic centre as well as a lively cultural town.

Our walk starts off right from the symbol of the Seigniory, namely Castelvecchio, commissioned by Cangrande II Della Scala. Still magnificent in its defensive appearance, the castle can be visited following a pathway created by the renowned architect Carlo Scarpa who carried out the restoration of the castle and finally gave back to the town a modern and refined museum complex.
In Cansignorio’s age the medieval bridge hadn’t been finished yet, but today it allows romantic walks along the brick battlements with an amazing view over the river Adige and the hills.

Further along Corso Cavour, keeping the charming Church of San Lorenzo on the left-hand side and once passed through the Porta Borsari, Cansignorio invites us for a visit to the Duomo (Cathedral), the centre of Verona’s religious life. The Duomo Chapter Library was at the core of cultural life of that period but now it can be visited only with a reservation.
From the 12th century onwards the Library was open to scholars and writers among whom were Dante Alighieri and Francesco Petrarca. Here we can browse through very ancient manuscripts (codex) and linger over admirable and precious miniatures.

We continue our walk with our guide and get captured by the Gothic beauty of the Church of Santa Anastasia that the most prominent families of the town have been embellishing with precious paintings and frescoes as well as with luxurious family vaults and chapels. Today we can admire the Gothic masterpiece by Pisanello, Saint George and the Princess of Trebizond, frescoed in the Pellegrini Chapel, which dates to the Scaligeri family’s period.

Behind the Church we find one of the most picturesque places of Verona, via Sottoriva, with its characteristic colonnade showing a strong medieval mark.

Cansignorio invites us to visit his family vault, namely the Arche Scaligere (Scaligeri’s Tombs) where we can admire Cangrande's Tomb (I Della Scala), the most enlightened of the Della Scala, a brave soldier, a far-sighted politician who is here shown on horseback in his whole magnificence while smiling to his citizens. Cansignorio dreamt about a tomb for himself as monumental as this one and today we can see right in front of us how admirably his wish was fulfilled.

Opposite the Tombs there is the Palazzo del Podestà (Palace of the Government) that was Cangrande and his family’s residence, which hosted intellectuals and artists from all over Europe, among whom Dante and most likely Giotto.

The nearby Piazza dei Signori (Lords’ Square), or Piazza Dante, the heart of the Scaligeri’ s Verona, accommodates a statue of an inscrutable Dante whose thoughtful attitude induces us to do the same. Other important buildings surround this square: the Palazzo del Capitanio, ordered by Cansignorio himself, and the Palazzo della Ragione (Domus Nova or City Hall). At that time our guide couldn’t have seen the majestic Scala della Ragione (Reason Stairway) in the nearby Piazza del Mercato Vecchio, because it was built nearly a century after his death.

Between the two squares stands the remarkable Torre dei Lamberti (Lamberti Tower) from where it is possible to enjoy an overall panorama of the town. In 1300 the tower hadn’t been finished yet and didn’t reach its current height of 84 meters.

From Piazza Dante (or Piazza dei Signori) we go through the Arco della Costa towards Piazza delle Erbe (Herbs’ Square), the commercial centre of the town surrounded by numerous medieval buildings among which is the Domus mercatorum, the town commercial and artistic core, and on the opposite side the Case Mazzanti (Houses of the Mazzanti) or Domus Bladorum which housed the Scaligeri’s granary on the upper floor.

Cansignorio looks intently at the statue of Madonna Verona, that he himself wanted to be built, placed in the middle of the Piazza delle Erbe, and at the Torre del Gardello (Gardello Tower) recently restored. We than make our way towards the Church of San Fermo, walking along the old Roman Cardo Maximus (currently via Cappello), completely unaware of the fact that the Dal Cappello family’s tower-house – dating to the 14th century – is to be found right along the way. The same house that would be later indicated as Juliet’s House and that would be the setting for one of the most celebrated of Shakespeare’s plays.

From here our guide would have reached the Basilica of S. Zeno in a few minutes horse riding, but today it’ll take us a 1,30 kilometer-long walk to get there, not to miss an essential visit to the Church dedicated to the patron saint of the town.

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