Verona Cathedral is a large, magnificent building with much to admire.
Dedicated to Blessed Virgin Mary under the designation of Santa Maria Matricolare, the Cathedral was consecrated in 1187. Built over the remains of more ancient buildings, it was altered and expanded on several occasions in the years that followed.
A visit to it is rather like leafing through the pages of a book on architecture, in which you can recognize Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance elements, which overlap and blend attractively throughout the building.
The variety of materials, notably the typical red marble quarried from the nearby mountains, creates a vibrant effect.
An example of this can be seen in the facade: the central part, with a splendid portal featuring two arches on top of one another, is a magnificent Romanesque creation from the 12th century, richly decorated with bas-reliefs. The slender, narrow windows on the sides are Gothic, while the top part was added at the end of the 16th century.
There is another fine Romanesque portal on the right side.
Now press pause and press play again once inside.
The interior, with high vaults supported by pillars, has the tall, slender appearance typical of fifteenth-century Gothic architecture.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the painter and architect Giovanni Maria Falconetto brought a graceful Renaissance appearance to the side chapels, setting them within painted works reproducing architectural elements.
The side altars feature works by a number of fifteenth and sixteenth-century painters from Verona: a particularly fine work is the Assumption of the Virgin, painted by Titian. In the same chapel, you can see the fine Renaissance tomb of a bishop, designed and sculpted by Jacopo Sansovino.
At the end of the central nave is a particularly striking, unusual architectural element: a semi-circular enclosed area with columns, designed by Michele Sammicheli in 1534, which surrounds the most sacred part of the Cathedral.
At the back of the church, around the high altar, you can see frescoes painted from drawings by Giulio Romano.
An interesting fact: at the back of the Cathedral is a tall, white bell tower, easily recognizable in any image of the city. The lower part is Romanesque, but most of the tower, by Sammicheli, dates to the 16th century. The top part, with a rather cold appearance, was completed in 1926.
