Chiesa di Santa Maria in Betlemme (San Zeno in Monte)

Set in the complex of the Don Calabria Institute (founded in 1908) in an area already home to an ancient medieval monastery, San Zeno in Monte is a church that still looks like the origins of the 11th century, when it was born under the name of Santa Maria di Betlemme.

According to a papal bull of 1444, the church was subject to the annual payment of an offer in favour of the Bishop of Bethlehem.

It is accessible via the so-called “Saint Staircase”, a staircase that climbs on the side of the hill and takes its name from the stations of the Way of the Cross that alternate along the wall that acts as counterfeits to the monastery itself. As you climb, you can see one of the most beautiful views of the city of Verona.

Noteworthy are in particular a map of the Holy Land engraved on a marble slab and the entrance portal covered with six bronze formals illustrating the main episodes of Jesus' childhood: the announcement of the prophet Micah (5:1-5), the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, the announcement of the angels to the shepherds, the massacre of the innocents and the adoration of the Magi.