_San Zeno_
The road to S. Zeno leads straight past the Castel Vecchio; and away
from the noise and bustle of the town we approach one of the finest
examples of a Romanesque church to be found in the whole of Northern
Italy. A quiet dignity and simplicity may be said to be the
characteristics of this glorious basilica both within and without; while
the blending of pagan antiquity and Christian feeling has brought about
a harmony in expression and construction that is very impressive.
Tradition has it that King Pepin, Charlemagne’s son, was the founder,
but no document exists to prove this, though the belief that it was
begun about the year 900, and that its erection was gone on with for two
succeeding centuries, has much to support it. It is certain that the
Emperor Otho I. of Germany on his way to Rome through Verona sojourned
for a while at the monastery of S. Zeno, and left a large sum of money
with the Bishop Rathold towards the fund for the completion of the
church. There is not a corner of S. Zeno that is not of interest, and
this begins with the west front, with the portals, and with the doors,
each one claiming in turn its meed of praise and admiration. The church
has been enlarged and restored, but nevertheless it retains its noble
proportions intact, and modern works have done little to injure the
plan and construction of the building. The façade is embellished with
bas-reliefs, carved in the yellow stone of the country, and taken from
legendary and sacred subjects. In the right hand corner the legend of
King Theodoric is represented, for it is supposed that he is the warrior
here at the chase, pursuing the stag which cannot be caught, and in
whose pursuit the hunter rides on till he reaches the gates of hell. The
sculptures are rough and uncouth, but full of life and movement, and
were executed in the year 1139 by Wiligelmus and Nicolaus, this latter
being the same artist whose work has already been noticed at the Duomo.
The round window above the portal stands for the wheel of fortune, with
figures in different attitudes to express the moods of the changeable
goddess. On the outer circle is engraved in leonine lines:--
“En ego Fortuna moderor mortalibus una,
Elevo, depono, bona cunctis vel mala dono.”
which may be loosely rendered--
“Behold, I, Fortune, I alone bestow on mortals,
I raise, depose; to all I give or good or evil gifts.”
On the inner circle is written:--
“Induo nudatos, denudo veste paratos,
In me confidit si quis, derisus abibit.”
“I clothe the naked, despoil from those in garments clad,
If anyone in me confides, derided will he go from hence.”
The portal below is borne on two columns resting on lions of red marble
placed on each side of the door like couchant sentinels, and above is
seen the divine hand held up in blessing with the words “Dextra Dei
gentes benedicit sacra petentes” (God’s right hand blesses those who
sacred sites do haunt). On the portal are also scenes from the Bible and
from the life of S. Zeno, the one in the centre being supposed to
[Illustration: S. ZENO MAGGIORE. CHOIR SCREEN AND ENTRANCE TO THE
CRYPT]
represent the deputation sent to him by the Emperor Gallienus. The doors
are covered with panels of carved bronze reliefs (perhaps the oldest
specimens of that form of metal decoration to be found in the country),
and are said to belong to the ninth century. The scenes they represent
are forty-eight in number, and are taken from the Old and New Testament.
They are quaint and archaic to a degree, but the work is that of a bold
and cunning craftsman, and the grotesque yet forcible attitudes of some
of the personages (as, for example, Salome dancing before Herod) show
the skill and humour that worked and lived in these men of old, hundreds
of years ago. Within the doors a flight of steps leads down into the
church, and one’s impulse on entering is to stand at the head of those
steps and gaze in silent admiration and reverence at the scene before
one. It is so grand, so calm, so severe, so solid, and yet so graceful
in the perfect proportion of lines, arches, columns, shafts. The nave
extends between two side aisles in a line of faultless symmetry till it
reaches in the centre to a double flight of stairs, the one flight
leading down to the crypt, the upper and smaller one leading to the high
altar and choir. To the right on entering is the baptismal font, formed
from a single piece of marble, and designed by Brioletto, who was also
the author of the window known as the Wheel of Fortune. On the other
side is the famous “Coppa,” or cup of S. Zeno, with the following legend
attached to it: S. Zeno had freed a daughter of the Emperor Gallienus
from an evil spirit which possessed her. The grateful father thereupon
wished to present the saint with a crown of gold, but S. Zeno refused
this and asked instead for a porphyry vase, which the demon, exorcised
from the maiden, was ordered to carry from Rome to Verona. Crossing the
Tiber the demon dropped the pedestal and arrived at Verona with the
vase only. “Hie back,” said S. Zeno, when the demon appeared with only
half his burden, “and bring hither the other part as well.” The order
was obeyed, and that, too, in one moment of time, and only the crack in
the vase bears witness to the small mishap which befel the precious cup
in its transit from Rome to the place where it now stands.
The columns in the nave are of different sizes and styles, and the
capitals, most of them of pure Corinthian, are nearly all varied. The
richness of originality and design shows to great advantage amidst the
simplicity which exists on every side, and the freedom from an abundance
of side-altars and--on the whole--from tawdriness of ornaments and paper
flowers adds to the effect and dignity of the scene in a most grateful
manner. A fine side-altar is to be noticed on the right going up the
church, with four columns of reddish-brown marble all carved out of a
single block, and resting on a lion and an ox, and dating from the
fourteenth century. The walls are all of brick and of that picturesque
stone known as “tufo” which we have had occasion to remark in nearly all
the principal buildings in Verona. This “tufo” must be cut from the
quarries in summer, when it hardens into such solidarity as to make it
well-nigh everlasting. Should it be cut in winter its porous qualities
remain and assert themselves, and it perishes and crumbles away in a
short while. There can be little doubt that at one time the walls were
all covered with frescoes, and even now many a one remains to testify to
the piety and art that marked the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries. Layard points this out in his valuable work so often referred
to in these pages. He says:[63] “Like other Italian cities, Verona
possessed, from a
[Illustration: CHURCH OF S. ZENO, VERONA]
very early period, and before the revival of the arts in the thirteenth
century, artists who decorated churches and public buildings with rude
wall-paintings. Such early works are still to be seen in the ancient
church of S. Zeno. They have no particular character or style to
distinguish them from other productions of a similar kind.” The
balustrade that divides the nave from the choir and that stands above
the arches over the crypt has on it a fine row of figures of our Lord
and the twelve Apostles, a work that probably belongs to the end of the
thirteenth century, or to even earlier days.
The archways leading into the crypt are formed of perfect semicircles
(of Roman as opposed to Byzantine shape) and contribute largely to the
effect by which this low-lying and generally concealed portion of the
church is brought into prominence. The pillars and columns in the crypt
support a vaulted roof, through which some of them pierce into the choir
above and carry on here the work begun on the lower floor. Some of these
columns are very graceful, and would almost seem like feathers rising
from the blocks of solid stone and masonry which are placed at limited
intervals about the crypt. The capitals of these columns differ one from
another; here and there they are quaint, not to say grotesque; others
again are plain and classical, while one and all are in keeping with
their surroundings, and bear witness to the love and skill that planned
and placed them there. There are frescoes too upon the walls and about
the columns, some very Byzantine in feeling and execution, some
approaching again to the Giottesque period. Several saints and bishops
are buried here--a solemn burial-place, and fitting for those who were
the first to toil in the vineyard of souls at Verona, and whose earthly
remains now rest from their labours in the beautiful crypt of S. Zeno.
The sense of religion and devotion is enhanced by hanging lamps which
cast an uncertain flickering light on the scene, and intensify the
effect of shadow and shade that is thrown by the “shafts of shapely
stone” clustering on every side. In the middle of the crypt stands the
tomb of S. Zeno. The body lies in a bronze coffin, a fine piece of
modern work by the brothers Spazzi (1889), guarded by seated figures of
Faith, Hope, Charity and Religion. The whole is enclosed in the same
kind of beautiful iron work such as has already been noticed round the
tombs of the Scaligers, which was erected by order of Mastino II. della
Scala.
Coming up from the crypt to the choir, the great picture by Andrea
Mantegna hanging behind the high altar claims a careful study. The
painting is on wood, in a lovely Renaissance frame which harmonises well
with the decorative architectural detail in the picture. It was
originally in six compartments, three above and three below, but was
carried off to Paris by Napoleon, whence it was returned without the
predella, which remained in the Salon carré of the Louvre (the present
one at S. Zeno is a copy). The Blessed Virgin sits enthroned in the
centre, holding the Child in the tender reverential manner to be found
in the Bellini school, and supported by angels and cherubs. A lovely
festoon of fruit and foliage is carried through the upper three
compartments, caught up with red tassels, while the accessories of
carpet, drapery, and hangings are extremely rich and glowing. St Peter,
St Roch, St Paul, St John, and St Augustine are on the left of the
picture; on the right are St John the Baptist, St Gregory, St Lawrence,
and St Benedict; all the figures possessed of dignity and individuality,
and expressing by their action or their attitude the characteristic
peculiar to each one of them. “The Virgin is in a classic portico,” says
Mr Selwyn Brinton, “adorned with bas-reliefs, with festoons of fruit and
coral. Eight robed child-angels of wonderful beauty play lutes, and sing
beneath and beside her throne. She looks up, holding the beautiful
Christ-child poised upright on her left hand; her expression and
attitude seem full of quiet dignity. A masterpiece of his (Mantegna’s)
earlier style.”[64]
The picture unfortunately is hung so high it is not easy to see, but a
good view can be gained by clambering up the steps at the back of the
altar where one is more on a level with it.
In the choir are some old carved walnut seats of the fourteenth century,
and in an apse is a fresco of S. Zeno with his right hand raised in
blessing. He is dressed in full episcopal robes, with a gorgeous dress
of red, edged with gold, and lined with green, and with medallions of a
particularly pretty shape studded about it. On the right hand of the
choir is a quaint Giottesque fresco of St George, with his spear through
the dragon’s head, while the Princess stands by with a look which seems
to imply that she would fain escape from knight and dragon alike did she
but know how. St George’s mantle flies in the breeze and reveals a
beautiful lining of ermine; on his shield the Cross stands boldly out on
a field of red, in harmonious keeping with the ermine-lined red cloak.
The steed stands quietly by, and shows no apparent concern at the way in
which his hind legs are encircled with coils of the dragon’s body.
Another fresco close by represents the raising of Lazarus, where most of
the spectators hold their noses, remembering evidently Martha’s caution
as to the four days that her brother had spent beneath the sod! This
fresco which is Byzantine in character is supposed to date from the
eleventh century. Of the same, or maybe even an earlier date is a statue
of S. Zeno, where his face is painted black (to remind us of his Eastern
origin) and having a fish attached to his pastoral rod, a token of his
profession as a fisher of souls.
Opening out from the church on the left hand side are the cloisters, of
striking and original beauty. They were built in the twelfth century,
and consist of twisted columns of red Verona marble, cut from a single
block, and ingeniously held above and below by
[Illustration: CLOISTERS, S. ZENO MAGGIORE]
short pieces of marble. These were not added for the purpose but cut,
together with the columns, out of the one solid bit of marble which
served to form the whole. On the further side from the church the arches
open out into a square form of arcading, the pillars here being larger
than those of the actual cloisters. They were supposed to have stood
round a sort of lavatory used probably by the monks either for
themselves or for the vessels they required for their service.
Some fine tombs are placed here in the cloisters, resting on brackets on
the wall, and belonging to the great families of Verona. There is a
quaint saying as to some of these families that lie buried here, and
that declares that they were: “Bevilacqua, che mai la bevero; Conti
Verità, che mai la dissero; Conti Giusti che mai lo furono.”
(Bevilacqua--or Drink-water--who never drank it; Counts Verită--or
Truth--who never said it; Counts Giusti--or Just--who never were it.)
This saying certainly speaks better for the wit of the Veronese (which
be it observed is known to be pithy and cutting) than for the manners of
the gentry.
Here too is the tomb of Giuseppe, illegitimate son of Alberto della
Scala, whom his father made Abbot of S. Zeno, and of whose appointment
to that post notice has already been made.[65] Lana in his Commentary on
the _Divina Commedia_ speaking of the allusion made by Dante in the
_Purgatorio_[66] to this transaction says: “Messer Alberto della Scala,
who was aged had committed a great sin, in that he had made his son
Abbot of S. Zeno, who was unworthy of such an episcopate; firstly,
because he was infirm in the body; secondly, that he was defective in
mind as in body; thirdly, that he was a natural son; so that he had
these three great defects.”[67]
Before leaving the church, and its pleasant well-informed custodian, one
Lodovico Marchiori, whose family have carried on that office for one
hundred and eighty-seven years, some attention must be given to the
campanile of S. Zeno, which is one of the finest in Verona, if not in
Italy. It was begun in 1045, and finished in 1178, and is a grand square
tower surmounted with a spire which has four corner turrets set on a
double row of arches. A quaint Latin inscription on the north side of
the belfry, and dating from the beginning of the fifteenth century tells
how there rests here one Henry of Tearen,[68] whose only claim to
celebrity seems to have been that he was the husband of Gertrude! Who
Gertrude was does not transpire, but the evidence that even in those
days a man could be no more than the husband of his wife would seem to
imply that the “new woman” was not so much a creation of these days as a
continuation of a state of things recognised centuries ago and worthy to
be recorded for all time.
To the left side of the façade of S. Zeno rises a square brick tower
with forked battlements. This is all that remains of the actual
monastery that belonged to the church, and within whose walls kings and
emperors had found hospitality when in days of old they sojourned for a
while in the fair city of Verona la Degna.