  Sant’ Eufemia—Porta dei Borsari—S.S. Apostoli—S. Lorenzo—S. Bernardino—Sta. TrinitÀ—Tomb of Romeo and Juliet—Ponte Rofiolo—Piazza BrÀ The church of Sant’ Eufemia may be reached either by following the broad open way of the Lungadige Panvinio, or by proceeding along the Corso Porta Borsari and turning up to the right. The church, of Gothic style, dates from the thirteenth century, but it is much spoilt internally by modern restorations. The faÇade is imposing, and each side of the door is flanked by a tomb: that on the right being a grand sarcophagus of the fourteenth century of red Verona marble to the Cavalcani-Bandi family; the one on the left, of the sixteenth century, by San Micheli, to the Counts Lavagnolo. There is also some more of San Micheli’s work to be seen close to a lateral door on the south side in the shape of a monument to the Verita family; while over this same door is a fresco by Stefano da Zevio. San Micheli was also the designer for the cloister of this church. Inside, the building strikes one as cold and poor. There are though some good frescoes by Caroto and Domenico Brusasorci, and an altar-piece by this latter of the Madonna in glory may certainly rank among his best works. In the
Returning to the Corso di Porta Borsari the ancient church of S. Giovanni in Foro (so called because it was close to the old Roman Forum) stands to the right, and claims a moment’s attention on account of its Gothic wall decorations, and the fresco by Domenico Brusasorci of the “Deposition from the Cross. Immediately beyond the “Porta” the street opens out into the Corso Cavour, and some interesting houses and palaces spring up around. There is first the house of the painter NicolÒ Giolfino, where some restored
and damaged frescoes are all that is left of the decoration once lavished on this house by Andrea Mantegna. Opposite in the little square of S. Micheletto stands a column surmounted by a lamb, placed there to mark that at one time the Guild of Wool—“Arte della Lana”—whose device was a lamb bearing a banner, had their offices there. Immediately beside the column stands the Palazzo Carlotti, a handsome though somewhat heavy edifice of the decadent period, with an ornate door set in a colonnade. This is followed by the Casa Pozzoni, a palace of Venetian Gothic of the fourteenth century, fine and well preserved. Facing it is a still finer building, the Palazzo della Banca Nazionale, with beautiful balconies, windows, and decorations, all good specimens of the best Renaissance date. Further on is the Piazza dei S.S. Apostoli, where a statue to the poet and patriot Aleardi (born in Verona in 1812) was put up in 1878, the very year in which he died. The sculptor was Ugo Zannini, the same who executed the statue to Dante in the Piazza dei Signori. Behind Aleardi’s statue is the church of the S.S. Apostoli, with that of Sta. Fosca and Sta. Teuteria annexed to it. These churches date from very early times, that of the S.S. Apostoli being prior to the eleventh century, and they bear to this day traces of the construction carried out at so remote an epoch. The apse and the belfry are Romanesque; and at the side of the belfry are some primitive stone sarcophagi that belonged of old to three patrician families of Verona. The interior of the church contains some fine Lombard-Byzantine decorations, and some later ones of the Renaissance epoch. The Virgin Saints Sta. Fosca and Sta. Teuteria—(and might one without undue levity or irreverence venture to inquire if this latter were the patron saint of toy terriers?) lie buried in the little church that bears their Opposite Aleardi’s statue and on the other side of the Corso Cavour is the church of S. Lorenzo, which stands off from the street, and is reached under an archway, which bears a figure of the saint aloft holding his gridiron, and through a picturesque courtyard. It is said that this church is built on the ruins of a Roman basilica dedicated presumably to Venus, and that it dates from the fifth century. The plan is altogether on the lines of the Roman basilicas, and consists of two tiers, the upper one having been set apart for the use of the women. This again was split up into compartments, one being for the virgins, another for the widows, and another for the matrons. The style of this church is Roman-Lombardesque, and in spite of a good deal of misdirected zeal and modern renovation there is much to admire in the building. The plans for restoring it to its original condition are also to be admired and encouraged, and one can but wish success to Don Pietro Scapini, the worthy vicar of the church, for his schemes for lowering the floor to its former level, and for other designs calculated to add to the beauty and interest of the old church of S. Lorenzo. The round towers at the west front are striking and characteristic. They led up formerly to the women’s gallery, and have curious circular basements, not often to be seen, though similar ones exist in one or two other places in Verona. The round arches in the interior of S. Lorenzo are very fine; and the alternate columns and pillars are of Veronese and foreign marbles and have all differently ornamented capitals. The Emerging again into the Corso Cavour, and on this same right hand side, is the Palazzo Portalupi, with an Ionic front of the eighteenth century, but “barocco” as to style, and over-ornamented. A little higher up—always on the same side—is the Palazzo Canossa, by San Micheli, one of the finest palaces in this Corso, and commanding an extensive view over the Adige and the country beyond it. The next point of interest is the Castel Vecchio, built as we have seen by Cangrande II. between the years 1353 and 1358. It will also be remembered that this second Cangrande della Scala built too the bridge across the river opening out from the castle, whereby he could receive help from Germany, and over which it may be that the hosts of Brandenburg marched to his assistance into the city. A third arch was added to the bridge in later times in order to strengthen it against the impetuous rush of the Adige; and the whole surmounted with the forked battlements wherewith the Scaligers usually crowned their buildings is a marked addition to the beauty of this mediÆval stronghold. It is now used as a barrack, but carts and wagons cross under the archway over the bridge, and foot passengers may go in and out as their business or fancy leads them. It is well to stand for a while on the bridge to ponder over the days of yore and to watch the rapid, swirling river as it From the Castel Vecchio the “Stradone di S. Bernardino” leads away to the left till it reaches the church of that name. The entrance into the church is through a cloister, to which some courteous monks open the door, and show the way into the building itself. This is of the fifteenth century, and belongs to the Franciscan brotherhood. The rood screen and organ loft are worthy of notice, but the object of special interest is the beautiful “Cappella Pellegrini,” a gem in its way, and the masterpiece—in so far as a religious edifice is concerned—of San Micheli. It is a circular chapel in Renaissance style, and was erected by Margherita Pellegrini to the memory of her husband. The decorations and classical severity of the pediments, cornices, and pilasters are considered almost faultless as to symmetry and design. The fact that San Micheli did not superintend its completion may account however for some blemishes, and for the falling away from the absolute purity of style which would otherwise have doubtless been preserved. In spite of this it is an exquisite piece of graceful refined work, unique in its way, and an abiding proof of the versatility and power of Verona’s greatest architect. It must be owned that there is no picture of extraordinary renown in this church, those that possessed any special merit having been transferred to the Public Gallery, and copies placed in their stead. There is however a good Crucifixion, by Francesco Morone in the interesting Cappella di Sta. Croce, and other fair work by NicolÒ Giolfino and Caroto. To the left of the altar is a good picture by Benaglio of the Madonna and saints, “inscribed with his name, with an architectural background and festoons of fruit and flowers, such as
painters of the (Veronese) school were fond of introducing into their pictures.” The Library of S. Bernardino (now a boys’ school) contains a striking fresco by Domenico Morone, which is rarely seen by the traveller though well worth a visit on account of its individuality and interest. The fresco—a large composition divided into three parts by classical columns, represents Franciscan saints and dignitaries. In the centre is placed the Madonna and Child enthroned, with numerous saints around them, among them being the donors of the painting under the form of St Francis and Sta. Chiara. The effect of the background, giving as it does the idea of a distant and most lovely landscape, is beautiful, and goes far to redeem the stiffness of outline evident in the drawing and the awkward treatment of the figures and drapery. Following the road which runs beside the grand wall of bastions set up by the Viscontis, we gain a small height on which stands the church of Sta. TrinitÀ. On the right going up the slope is the former church of Sta. Maria degli Angeli, now used as a college for girls of good families, but containing no treasures of art. The little hill is known as the “clivo del Monte Oliveto” from the Olivetan monks who came from Vallombrosa to settle here, and to build the church of Sta. TrinitÀ, which was consecrated Below the church of Sta. TrinitÀ and now leading past a huge barrack built by the Austrians, runs the old Roman road which led out towards Ostiglia on the Po, and into the town through the gate formerly known as that of Sta. Croce. It was along this road that the race was run to which Dante alludes in the Inferno— Mr Vernon says: Soon after the Palazzo Gazzalo, which boasted a fine garden now only kept as a nursery garden, is the old church of the Cappucines, with traces here and there of Roman masonry. It is now given up to the manufacture of torpedo boats. A few paces further on (going always towards the town) we come to a large enclosure where a horse fair is held twice a year, and where a brisk trade is done in that line, horses to the number of about a thousand coming from Italy, Hungary and other countries to be bought and sold. Through this modern commercial part of Verona we pass to the garden of the Orfanotrofio, where the made-up tomb of Romeo and Juliet has been placed. The tomb is of red Verona marble, but before it was put to this use it served as a washing-trough. A feeling of pity and disdain cannot but be felt over the fraud here practised to arouse false sentimentality. The story of the two lovers, as is well known, had no foundation, and was taken by Shakespeare from one of the tales of Luigi di Porto, a novelist of the sixteenth century. The enmity between the two houses of Montagu and Capulet was indeed a fact historically true, and a fact also whose effect made itself felt in the civil wars and dissensions that had so often disturbed the internal life of Verona. This enmity has also been noticed by Dante, who speaks of it in the Purg. vi. 107. But the very silence maintained by the great Tuscan over the story of the lovers is proof enough that so touching a romance had no foundation. Had there been one we may be sure that the master-hand at whose touch Paolo and Francesca have been endowed with immortal fame, and who in six short lines has sketched for us the tragedy of La Pia, would not have left “unwept, unhonoured and unsung” the memory of the lovers of Verona. Romeo and Juliet lived only in the imagination of our great dramatist, The bridge called “Rofiolo” leads into the wide Via Pallone, and close beside it is to be seen a tablet with some heads carved on it in high relief. The story of this tablet and of the strange name of “Rofiolo” has been explained as follows: some “guilty sons” (rei figli, hence rofiolo) murdered their parents and threw them into the canal which flows hard by. The name of these “guilty sons” has consequently been affixed to the spot where their iniquity was perpetrated, and their effigies have been placed near at hand. Such at least is the tradition, into whose absolute veracity it were perhaps well not to inquire too closely. The Via Pallone leads into the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, or Piazza BrÀ (from Preatum, a meadow) where on one side is an equestrian statue of Victor Emanuel by Borghi, placed there in 1883. The Arena on the east side of the Square forms naturally enough the chief object of interest, but there are also some buildings and palaces around for which a moment’s notice may be claimed. The double archway which leads out of the Piazza into the Corso Vittorio Emanuele dates from the epoch of the Scaligers, or more probably from that of the Visconti, as does also the pentagonal tower beside it. Close to this again is the Palazzo della Gran Guardia Vecchia, a huge massive building ascribed to one Curtoni (1609), a pupil of San Micheli. It was built for public meetings, concerts, lectures and the like, and serves for such purposes still. On the other side of the archway, or as it is called, the Portone della BrÀ, is the Museo Lapidario, which stands inside the courtyard of the Philharmonic Theatre. It was founded and |
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