Filed under: Attractions, History & Information, Things To Do In Verona, Verona Churches
Verona’s San Zeno: Northern Italy’s Most Ornate Romanesque Church
If you’ve ever traveled to Verona, chances are you visited Juliet’s House, the Arena to see an opera, and the main piazzas complete with giant hanging whale bone. But if you venture just out of the city center, you’ll find one of Northern Italy’s most extravagant churches…it’s like no other.
San Zeno was built in 1120-1138 and is adorned with an impressive rose window which symbolized the Wheel of Fortune with figures that show the rise and fall of human luck, marble reliefs, and porch canopy that appears to defy gravity. Inside the church you’ll be amazed about how different this church is compared to the others throughout the city and country.
The ceiling in the Nave is a wonderful example of a ship’s keel ceiling. It’s named this because of the way the ceiling resembles an upturned boat. The central plan of the church is modeled on an ancient Roman basilica, the Hall of Justice. The main altar is situated in the sanctuary that is raised from the main floor and this is where the judge’s throne would have been located.
If you’re still not amazed after seeing all of that, take a trip to the crypt where you’ll find the remains of San Zeno, the appointed 8th bishop of Verona in AD 362…he died in AD 380.
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