_Via Cappello_--_San Fermo_--_Museo Civico and Picture Gallery_
From out the active stirring Piazza delle Erbe runs the narrow quiet
street of the Via Cappello. The tramway which traverses all Verona from
the Porta Nuova to the Porta Vescovo passes at a foot’s pace along it,
and almost touches an old mediæval house that tradition points out as
the house of the Capulets, and where Juliet is said to have lived and
loved. A tablet[48] over the door records the legend, though no romance
attaches to the use to which the house is now put--a stable for carriers
and their vans--and probably few who pass under the archway ever think
of the ill-starred lovers or consider their story as aught but a myth.
A little further down the street and on the same side stands the
Biblioteca Comunale, where precious volumes and manuscripts are stored
in laudable order, and where the kindness and courtesy of the officials
makes it a pleasure to study and hunt among the treasures so freely
placed at one’s disposal. Close beside it is the disused church of St
Sebastian; and but a short way further on is the Arco dei Leoni, a Roman
ruin, said to have been part of Gallienus’s wall, and worthy of a better
place and surrounding. A tinsmith’s shop is all around it, and zinc
baths and tin wares and utensils hang beside the fine columns and
architraves that are lost in so incongruous a setting. That this grand
old ruin was once one of the gateways into the town seems probable; but
archæologists are divided as to its exact origin and purpose, and only
agree in claiming for it without hesitation a very remote antiquity.
Other houses in this street, now called Via Leoni, have traces of Roman
architecture, often stowed away in inner courtyards, and evidently
proving of more interest to the passing prying stranger than to the
owner and inhabitant.
The church of S. Fermo Maggiore is close at hand; one of the four finest
churches of Verona, and beautiful from whichever side we approach it. It
is another example of the blending of brick and marble peculiar to
Verona; and while studying the harmonious fusion of these materials it
is interesting to observe the different periods of building and the
different dates that have left their mark on the construction of this
noble edifice. The façade, the presbytery, and the belfry are fine
examples of the Lombard-Gothic style; and the approach to the principal
entrance up a flight of stairs, with tombs, niches, windows around, and
a deep portal above is very impressive. To the left of the entrance is
the tomb of Aventino Fracastoro, the physician of Cangrande (1350). This
monument, of great beauty, consists in true Veronese fashion of the
sarcophagus supported on brackets, placed under a canopy. On the other
side is another canopy, looking as though intended for a tomb, but of
smaller dimensions than the one above-mentioned, and placed there
[Illustration: JULIET’S HOUSE (traditionally)]
for no reason that has yet been discovered. The actual church of S.
Fermo dates from about the year 1065, but the oldest part of it is the
crypt which boasts of a very great antiquity. From the archæologist’s
and historian’s point of view the chief interest attaching to S. Fermo
centres round this crypt, and they ascribe some portions of it to at
least the second half of the eighth century. The different styles of
architecture and of fresco-painting in this subterranean church are of
all-engrossing matter; and hours might be spent here pondering over the
ascendancy of Greek, Roman, Lombard, and Christian art, and deciphering
the unmistakable signs that tell how, even in the ninth century, this
lower church was decorated with the crude and primitive paintings then
coming into vogue. The carvings representing in rude outline the cross
in various shape, the fish, and other allegorical symbols point, as far
as date is concerned, to a very early period of Christianity, and
confirm the generally accepted belief that the crypt was the work of the
very first Christians, and built at the moment of the suppression of
paganism.
To return however to the church. The interior is striking and beautiful.
It consists of a single nave; no aisles are included in the plan, and it
is crowned by a magnificent roof made of larch, and shaped like the
ribbing of a ship, with paintings and carvings introduced at every
possible coign of vantage. The church was first built for the
Benedictines in the eleventh century as has been said. Two hundred years
later it was transferred to the Franciscans, and it underwent
considerable additions and alterations both at their hands, and again in
the early part of the fourteenth century. These works were largely
helped on by the piety and generosity of Daniele Gusman, the prior of S.
Fermo, and by Guglielmo da Castelbarco who, as has been seen, did so
much for St Anastasia, and whose tomb standing outside that church has
already been described. Here too his memory has been perpetuated in a
fresco over the archway to the right and left of the high altar, where
he on one side, and Prior Gusman on the other are represented “offering
willingly to the Lord.” The doubt as to who is the author of these
frescoes is still unsolved. For a long time they were attributed to
Giotto; and though Crowe and Cavalcaselle say that none of his work done
in S. Fermo is left, they admit that the fresco of Castelbarco
presenting the church of S. Fermo is by a different hand to the other
frescoes in the church--these latter being all by Veronese masters.
Over the doorway of the main entrance--a door by the way very rarely
opened, and to get into the church one must go to the one on the left
hand side--is a fresco of the Crucifixion, ascribed first to Cimabue,
then to Giotto, and though by neither of them, is at the same time the
work of some very early master. To the left of this entrance, and above
an ugly mausoleum to the Brenzoni family, is a most beautiful fresco by
Vittore Pisanello, and according to Layard, his only fresco-painting,
besides the one at St Anastasia, yet remaining in Verona. The subject is
the Annunciation, very gracefully and effectively treated, and with some
very beautiful architectural drawing around the Madonna. Further on are
more frescoes of the fourteenth century, which have not been long
discovered, among them being a striking one of the Crucifixion. Close by
is the Chapel of the Sacrament, where hangs the masterpiece of Gian
Francesco Caroto. It is described as follows by Layard:--“His (Caroto’s)
best existing work is an altarpiece in the church of S. Fermo Maggiore
(Verona), representing the Virgin and Child and St Anne in glory, with
four saints
[Illustration: CHURCH OF S. FERMO MAGGIORE
THE MADONNA AND CHILD AND ST ANNE IN GLORY, WITH OTHER SAINTS BELOW
(G. FRANCESCO CAROTO)]
beneath, signed and dated 1528. It is grandly conceived, powerful in
colour, giving the impression that he had seen and been influenced by
Bernardino Luini; the Madonna is a beautiful woman with a tender and
gentle expression; the Child less pleasing; the heads of SS. Roch and
John are especially fine.”[49]
The fresco over a small door leading into the Torriani chapel is by
Francesco Bonsignori, signed and dated 1484; and inside the chapel is
the tomb raised by Girolamo della Torre, and said to be one of the most
precious works of art preserved in S. Fermo. This may doubtless be so
for those who first of all are fortunate enough to find some means
whereby they can obtain sufficient light to view this treasure; and who
secondly are content to be put off with copies of the original. For the
bronze bas-reliefs which once decorated this tomb were carried off to
Paris, where they are still preserved at the Louvre, and copies
supplement the place they once filled. What is left is however
pronounced by all who have seen it to be of great merit, and worthy of
the designer and artist, Andrea Riccio of Padua.
Several interesting examples of the Veronese school are to be found in
this church. In the chapel after that of the Delia Torre family is a
good “Adoration” by Orbetto, fine in tone and colour, though the
grouping is a little confused and overcrowded. In the chapel dedicated
to St Anthony is a picture by Liberale of “St Anthony in Glory,”
showing, according to Mr Selwyn Brinton, the improvement gained by him
after he came “under the influence of the mighty Mantegna, when a
greater conception of art seems to strike him.”[50] In one of the
chapels beside the high altar is a fine Crucifixion by Domenico
Brusasorci. The Alighieri chapel is more or less on the lines of the
Arco de’ Gavi, and was erected by Francesco, the last lineal male
descendant of Dante, who with two or three other members of the family,
is buried here. The picture over the altar is by Battista del Moro.
A fact that is of botanic interest is to be met with here in the
epigraph below the organ to Francesco Calceolari. He was the first
botanist who ever made his mark in Verona, and his name at all events
suggests some connection with the flower whose gaudy colours were once
in such request for the bedding-out garden.
Immediately below the sacristy is the marble sarcophagus erected by the
citizens of Verona to the memory of Torello Saraina, who, as has been
said, wrote the first printed history of the town, and whose opinion and
authority on Veronese antiquities and monuments is of great weight and
value. The Saraina chapel standing beside the tomb was erected by the
historian himself, and dedicated by him to the Trinity, to the Virgin,
and to the Archangel Raphael. It contains a fine painting by Torbido
over the altar, a Madonna and Child in the clouds, with the Archangel
and Tobias below. According to Morelli, this work makes Torbido worthy
to be compared with the elder Bonifazio. The coffin containing the ashes
of Saraina was probably removed to the side (where it stands resting on
two turrets of marble) when the chapel was arranged for the celebration
of the Mass. Saraina died May 8, 1550. That he was a patron of art as
well as a man of letters is proved by the fact that not only did he
order the fine picture painted by Torbido for the Saraina chapel, but
that the house he inhabited in the Via della Stella was also by his
desire decorated with frescoes by the same master.
The pulpit is a beautiful bit of fourteenth century work. It is rich in
marbles, and has many good designs surmounted with frescoes that for
many years were supposed to be the work of Stefano da Zevio. Recent
investigations, however, have proved them to be by Martini, whose
signature upon them has also come to light.
The patron saint of the church is S. Fermo, who together with S.
Rustico, suffered martyrdom early in the fourth century. Their bodies
first buried in the crypt were afterwards placed under the high altar in
the church, where they were at all events safe from those inundations of
the Adige that so often wrought havoc to the town, and that in their
impetuosity respected neither saint nor sanctuary. The festival of the
martyred saints is held on the 9th of August.
The beautiful exterior of the apse and belfry can be well seen and
studied on the way to the Palazzo Pompei. This palace contains the Museo
Civico and the Picture Gallery, and stands on the other side of the
Adige. The way to it lies across the Ponte delle Navi, a modern bridge
built to replace the one set up in 1373 by Cansignorio, which was swept
away in the inundation of 1757.
It must seem ungracious on the part of a visitor, and of one too who has
received much kindness and courtesy in the town, to complain of the
arrangements and methods customary in the public buildings of Verona.
But the way in which the works of art are kept and treated is lamentable
in the extreme, and the disregard and indifference as to those treasures
cannot but evoke feelings of surprise, indignation, and regret. The
Palazzo Pompei, a fine Doric building designed by San Micheli, was
bequeathed by its late owner to the city for a picture gallery; and that
it was never built or intended for the purpose to which it is now put
may perhaps serve as some excuse for its total inadequacy. The rooms
are small; the windows so placed that a great deal of light falls on
some pictures leaving others in darkness, and threatening besides to
ruin paintings exposed for hours on bright days to a flood of
unmitigated and uncurtained sunshine.
The ground-floor consists of a collection of the most varied kind: there
are Etruscan and Roman remains; prehistoric antiquities from the Lake of
Garda; marble vases and sculptures, coins, utensils belonging to the
prehistoric, bronze, and iron ages; mediæval statues in stone and in
bronze; a large array of capitals, columns, and fragments of buildings
and fortifications that have been dug up at recent excavations and
brought here, and casts of modern works. The great inundation of the
Adige in 1882, which is answerable for so much damage in Verona is also
held responsible for the state of disorder to which this heterogeneous
mass is reduced. The flood disarranged the Museum; and time and money do
not yet seem to have been found wherewith to repair the mischief then
caused.
The pictures are on the first floor, and are for the most part the works
of Veronese masters. The first room, known as the Sala Bernasconi, has a
fine but faded picture by Paolo Farinato (No. 13) of Christ shown to the
multitude. No. 32 is an early but graceful work by Titian of the Madonna
and Child and St John. No. 34, a Madonna and Child, and St John the
Baptist with two angels, is said to be by Perugino; and much of it
probably is by him, the rest by one of his pupils.
Room II. has several good pictures, though not all are by the artists to
whom they are ascribed. No. 86, for instance, is a lovely Presentation
in the Temple, with a forged signature of Gian Bellini. No. 88 is a Holy
Family by Andrea del Sarto, but so cleaned as
[Illustration: CAVAZZOLA’S DEPOSITION FROM THE CROSS]
to leave little of the original. No. 90 is a Madonna and Child that from
its likeness to the fresco in S. Fermo is said to be by Pisanello. No.
92 a Madonna, Francesco Caroto, restored and hard. No. 97, a powerful
and authentic portrait by Antonio Moro. No. 120, a Madonna and Child
with St Joseph by Perugino. No. 121, a graceful Annunciation by
Garofolo. No. 155, a Madonna and Child with two Saints by Francia; a
picture full of the charm that this Bolognese master rarely fails to
exercise. Nos. 112, 108, and 154, are all by Caroto, though in his
earlier rather than in his best and later manner. Other pictures in this
room are by good masters but hung so high that all effort to judge of
them is vain.
Room III. has no work in it which demands especial attention.
Room IV., No. 240, a Madonna by Giolfino; a hard and somewhat cold
picture though not lacking in expression. No. 243, a Madonna enthroned,
with saints and angels; an early work by Paolo Veronese. No. 244, a
Madonna and Saints by Antonio Badile; a good picture though hung too
high. No. 250, Christ washing the disciples’ feet by Bonifazio; a
picture full of the rich warm colouring of this master, and lacking--as
is often the case with him--in all sense of religious feeling. No. 252,
a Madonna enthroned with SS. Roch and Sebastian, by Girolamo dai Libri;
and also by him No. 253, the Baptism of Christ. No. 267, a portrait by
Paolo Veronese; the only really fine portrait to be found in Verona by
Verona’s greatest painter, and representing one of the Guarienti family
attired as a warrior. No. 271, a Madonna by Bonsignori.
Room V. This is the most interesting room in the gallery. No. 290 is a
Holy Family by Girolamo dai Libri, known as “la Vergine dei Conigli,”
or “of the rabbits.” Though somewhat faded and hung too high it is a
charming picture representing the Madonna, with St Joseph, St Jerome,
and St John the Baptist worshipping the Babe. The landscape is glowing
with colour and with rich detail, and the rabbits seated with due
solemnity give a humorous touch to the whole scene. There are several
important paintings in this room by Paolo Morando surnamed Cavazzola, of
whose works in this collection Mr Selwyn Brinton speaks as follows: “In
visiting Verona, I found the Public Gallery rich in his paintings; the
earnestness of his style, and his power in drawing and colour find
illustration in the series of five subjects from the Passion in that
gallery (brought there from S. Bernardino). Most of all among them I
gave my admiration to the most striking ‘Descent from the Cross,’
powerful, of great pathos, brilliant, and yet cold in colour.”[51]
Of the power of Cavazzola’s painting, and of the decorative value of his
work there can be no doubt, but he strikes one as being careful to
attain a correct form in his figures rather than to convey depth of
devotion, and to be merely affected when he would fain be pathetic. His
work at times though very hard and formal is yet often full of
expression; his backgrounds are interesting and to be liked; and his
vivid colouring is nearly always to be admired. A fine work of his, the
last he ever painted, and perhaps his masterpiece, is No. 335 in this
room. It is an altarpiece, showing the Madonna in glory with angels,
saints, and the donor, the Contessa di Sacco, at the bottom of the
picture. Nos. 292, 293, 294, 295 are the series alluded to above; No.
298 is St Thomas questioning our Lord’s resurrection by him. Nos. 302
and 303
[Illustration: THE VIRGIN AND CHILD ENTHRONED, WITH ST JOSEPH, THE
ARCHANGEL RAPHAEL AND TOBIAS (GIROLAMO DAI LIBRI)]
[Illustration: VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH SAINTS IN GLORY (PAOLO MORANDO
DETTO CAVAZZOLA)]
are also by him; and so too are Nos. 306 and 308. No. 329 is a pleasant
portrait by Domenico Brusasorci of himself as a musician. No. 330, the
Trinity by Francesco Morone. No. 333, a Madonna and Child with St Andrew
and St Peter, by Girolamo dai Libri. No. 334, a very fine Madonna and
Child with two saints by Cima da Conegliano. No. 339 is again by
Girolamo dai Libri, showing a lovely landscape with an enthroned
Madonna, the Child, St Joseph, Tobias, and the angel all in rich glowing
colour, and altogether delightful. There are also three pictures by
Caroto in this room: one of the three archangels with Tobias over the
door is particularly good. It is signed and is very worthy of notice. On
the wall coming into this room is a collection of fragments of
miniatures from liturgical books by Liberale, and Girolamo dai Libri.
They are all framed, and form as choice and rich a collection of such
works of art as exists anywhere.
Room VI. (No. 351), a fine picture of the Madonna and cherubs by Carlo
Crivelli showing the influence of the Paduan school. No. 355 is a
painting on wood in several compartments by one Turone in a frame of the
same date (fourteenth century) and representing divers saints. This
picture, dated 1360, is cited by Crowe and Cavalcaselle as a proof of
how the Veronese school held aloof from all Giottesque influence. Such
independence does not meet with the approval of the two art critics, who
refuse to see in this course of action an individuality which declined
to borrow even from a superior source--an attitude of originality that
was indulged in at a possible loss of increased technique and drawing,
but that is worthy all the same of respect.
No. 359 is a painting on wood by Stefano da Zevio: a youthful work,
signed and dated 1363, of the Madonna and St Catherine in a garden of
roses. No. 362, the Crucifixion by Jacopo Bellini, a grand solemn
picture even if somewhat retouched. Nos. 368 and 369 are small
altar-pieces by Girolamo Benaglio, in frames characteristic of the
period (fifteenth century) and in good taste. No. 376, the Resurrection,
attributed to Squarcione, and possibly containing some of his work. No.
377, a Deposition by Liberale, but hung too high to be seen well. Nos.
390, 392, 394, are far and away the gems of this room, and are all fine
works by Cavazzola. They represent Gethsemane, the Deposition, the
Bearing of the Cross. The Deposition is the most famous of this series,
which, as shown by the inscription, was painted in 1517, and in it is to
be seen the artist’s portrait to the left of the cross, while in the
background stand out the heights of Verona with the castle of San Pietro
and the Adige below.
Few of the other rooms have anything of interest or merit in them,
though in No. IX.--when not closed--are to be seen some of the medals of
Vittore Pisanello; and a fresco by Cavazzola, brought here from the
church of SS. Nazzaro and Celso. There is also a fine fresco in Room
XII. by Francesco Morone, of the Madonna with saints, that shows great
power of grouping. This was originally on the exterior of a house near
the Ponte delle Navi, and was brought here for preservation. Layard
says: “A charming specimen of his (Morone’s), warm, rich colouring, and
delicate and graceful sentiment was, until recently, to be seen in a
fresco of the Virgin and Child and saints, on the façade of a house near
the Ponte delle Navi at Verona, dated 1515, which added much to the
picturesque beauty of the site. It has unfortunately been transferred to
canvas, suffering irreparably in the process and by clumsy restoration,
and is now a mere wreck in the public gallery.”[52]
Here, too, are some frescoes by Martino da Verona, by Giolfino, and by
Caroto, and with a glance at them the visit to the picture gallery may
be brought to a close.