Verona Cathedral Complex
The Verona Cathedral complex is an ensemble of buildings in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Verona old town . The cathedral itself is known under the name Santa Maria Assunta or Santa Maria Matricolare (Matricolare = mother church).
Building of the cathedral complex
- Cathedral of Santa Maria Matricolare
- Sant 'Elena
- San Giovanni in Fonte
- Canon cloister
- Chapter library
- Bishopric
history
The area of today's cathedral complex was built on with villas in the Roman Empire , which included private baths ( balnea ) and probably also small cult temples.
Late antiquity
During his tenure (between 362 and 380), Zeno , the bishop of Verona, had a basilica A built, which was soon replaced by a larger church. This second basilica B was in use until at least the end of the 7th century, after which it was destroyed by fire or earthquake.
Remnants of both churches were uncovered in the area of Sant 'Elena and the canons' cloister.
Early middle ages
When the main church of Verona was rebuilt in the 8th / 9th Century an area south of the previous buildings; it is the area of today's cathedral church. Also in the 9th century, a church dedicated to Saints George and Zeno was built in the vicinity of the cathedral.
Romanesque
The cathedral complex was destroyed by an earthquake in 1117. In the following twenty years, the cathedral was rebuilt in Romanesque style on its present day area. The baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte, built around 1123, belongs to this Romanesque cathedral. Today's Romanesque church of Sant 'Elena, the Church of the Canons , contains the building fabric of the pre-Romanesque church consecrated to Saints George and Zeno.
Gothic
During an extensive renovation from 1440 to 1520, the interior of the cathedral got its current, late Gothic shape, similar to the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice at the same time and still unaffected by the forms of the early Renaissance .
Cathedral church
outer facade
The current façade was built between 1440 and 1520, although the outline of the Romanesque basilica can still be seen.
The main portal, created by Nicolò in 1139, has a two-storey porch that protects the relief decoration of the portal. Figures of John the Evangelist and John the Baptist can be seen on this porch . Two large guardian figures ( Hruotland and Uliviero) flank the entrance . Ten Old Testament prophets are depicted on either side of the entrance; they are among the oldest robe figures of the Middle Ages. The tympanum is decorated with a colored relief depicting the enthroned Mother of God with child (as the patroness of the cathedral church) between the Annunciation to the Shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi .
The side portal, which was built around the same time, also has Romanesque sculptures that are interpreted as Jonah and the whale, the lion and the Annunciation.
inner space
The spatial impression is determined by the bundle pillars made of red marble and the wide arcades , which give the church a hall-like appearance despite the round windows in the upper aisle . The three-aisled church interior has six side chapels. They were created between 1465 and 1504 and framed with mock architecture by Giovanni Maria Falconetto.
On the north wall, from west to east:
- Cartolari-Nichesola Chapel: 15th century frescoes. Altar painting of the Assumption of Mary (Assunta) by Titian . Compared to his main work in the Venetian Frari Church , which is dedicated to the same theme, the depiction of the Ascension in the Cathedral of Verona has a special feature in that Titian has the apostles partly looking up at Mary, who is lifted into the sky, partly at the ground.
- Abbazia-Lazzari Chapel, dedicated to the Holy Body and Blood of Christ: frescoes by Antonio il Badile (15th century), painting by Sante Prunati (1720).
- Cartolari Chapel (1465, remodeled in the 18th century), consecrated to St. Michael : epitaph of the Archdeacon Pacificus (846).
On the south wall, from west to east:
- Chapel Dionisi, consecrated to St. Peter and Paul: frescoes by Giovanni Maria Falconetto (1503). Painting Adoration of the Magi by Liberale da Verona , painting by Niccolo Giolfino (15th / 16th century).
- Calcasoli Chapel, consecrated to St. Anthony of Vienna: frescoes by Giovanni Maria Falconetto, paintings by Giambettini Cignarola (1741) and Francesco Morone (16th century).
- Emilei Chapel: frescoes by Giovanni Maria Falconetto, paintings by Giambettino Cignaroli and Francesco Morone.
The main chapel in the apse was painted in 1534 by Francesco Torbido with scenes from the life of the Virgin . The semicircular ambulatory was created in 1534 by Michele Sanmicheli from colored marble.
The grave slab of Pope Lucius III is in the southeast corner of the church . († 1185 in Verona).
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Baptistery (San Giovanni in Fonte)
The baptistery is still essentially the same as it was when it was built in the 12th century and shows the typical characteristics of Veronese architecture: alternating columns , masonry made of alternating layers of tuff and bricks. The central nave is unusually wide, which creates a spatial impression that is reminiscent of early Christian basilicas. Frescoes from the 14th century have been preserved.
In the center of the three-aisled chapel is an octagonal baptismal font , which is considered the main work of Romanesque sculpture. It was carved out of a single block of marble around 1200. The eight sides are decorated with reliefs showing the following biblical scenes:
- Annunciation to Mary ;
- Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem ;
- Annunciation to the Shepherds ;
- Adoration of the kings ;
- Herod's order to murder children;
- Child murder in Bethlehem ;
- Flight to Egypt ;
- Baptism of Christ in the Jordan .
The reliefs 1 to 3 show a finer design that suggests Byzantine influence, mediated by Venice. Reliefs 4 to 8, on the other hand, show the same hand as the wheel of fortune on the facade of San Zeno Maggiore .
Atrium
The Romanesque atrium of Santa Maria Matricolare created the connection between the cathedral and the canons of Sant 'Elena. Columns, arches and ribbed vaults have been preserved . Uncovered excavations show, among other things, tombs in this area.
Sant 'Elena
The canons' church was consecrated to Saint Helena during its Romanesque reconstruction after the earthquake of 1117 because it has a cross relic . In the 14th century it was also given a Renaissance porch. Inside there is an altar painting by Felice Brusasorzi from the 16th century.
On January 20, 1320, this church was the scene of a lecture by Dante Alighieri ( Quaestio de aqua et terra ).
The spatial impression of Sant 'Elena today is essentially shaped by the exposed remains of the late antique basilicas, which the visitor looks down on. These form the center of the church:
The three-aisled building from the late 4th century had a slightly raised choir and floor heating ( hypocaust ). The larger second basilica, the apse of which was exposed under Sant 'Elena, had a quadriporticus. Remains of the mosaic floors of both churches have been preserved.
Canon cloister
The cloister dates from the time the cathedral was built (around 1140).
Here, too, excavations of the late antique predecessor church were made accessible to the viewer: mosaic floors and column drums. A pillar was put up again.
Chapter library
The capitular library ( Biblioteca Capitolare ) on the west side emerged from the scriptorium of the Schola Majoris Ecclesiae of the 5th century, a training center for the clergy at the main church in Verona. At the beginning of the 13th century, the number of books in a library had grown due to the copyist's activity, and one went from copying to borrowing the holdings. The library was used, for example, by Dante Aligheri and Francesco Petrarca . The current inventory includes:
- 1,200 manuscripts,
- 11,000 parchments,
- 245 incunabula ,
- 2,500 books from the 16th century,
- 2,800 books from the 17th century
- and another 70,000 books.
Special treasures are: the Palinsesto Virgiliano , De civitate Dei of Augustine , the Veronese riddle (the oldest evidence of the Italian language), the only surviving codex of the institutions of Gaius , and the Iconografia Rateriana with the earliest representation of the city of Verona.
Bishopric
The episcopal palace was completed in 1502. Its renaissance façade shows style elements that reveal Venetian influence (battlements, portal). The late Romanesque columns in the loggia come from the cathedral church and were moved here when the palace was built.
Web links
- Homepage of the historic churches of Verona: The Cathedral Complex
- City portal Verona: Complesso del Duomo (cathedral area)
literature
- Klaus Zimmermanns: Veneto: the cities and villas of Terraferma , DuMont 2011.