Ecclesiastical Splendor

 

Buon giorno,

To be frank, I am OLD, and I have been touristing pretty hard the last few days. I'm tired, so I gave myself a slightly easier, but satisfying day visiting a couple of old churches because it's Monday and all the other museums are closed.

Old churches sounds dull, Pil.

I'm afraid I did not advertise the targets correctly. Magnificent. Marvelous. Jaw Dropping Wonders is more like it. And I'll confess that I did not realize Verona held such treasures, but once I thought about it, it made sense. The city has been important and wealthy for a long time. So my advice is to ignore those crazy kids Romeo and Juliet and focus on some real history and art.

Rain is once again in the forecast. When I was out it was dry and just a little cool. I went to the grocery store and found that my room was being done when I returned. I actually appreciate this.  I get out early, and I get back early. Did I mention I'm old?  

Anyway I set out for the Duomo and promptly got lost. Il Duomo is the Cathedral of the City, i.e. the seat of the bishop, and this one is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin. This means she was taken from the tomb and arose into heaven. I do not panic at being lost having experienced this more times than I can count. I knew the general direction. I had a map. I kept going, and arrived.

You can see the facade of the cathedral and its Romanesque and Gothic elements.

The churches charge admission, and this time I see the sense of it. The money goes for the maintenance of the building, and the visitor gets an audio guide. I got a discount for being old.  If you ask me Il Duomo is a MUST SEE in Verona. I was overwhelmed by its splendor, and I have seen a LOT of incredible churches. What we have here is a Romanesque foundation with some Gothic elements and a lot of Renaissance and Baroque decoration. Verona's true art treasures are in her churches. I saw wonderful frescos and moving paintings and sculptures. The decoration is not quite horror vacui, but it comes close. 

Then I strolled down to Santa Anastasia. Its nave is the largest in Verona, and the church is remarkably uniform and harmonious in design. It makes great use of red Verona marble for example in the pavement and columns. It is also packed with art treasures. Hello, Titian! A very informative audio guide is provided.

I ended up feeling overwhelmed and yet satisfied. I made my way slowly home though the throngs of school groups and guided tours.

Ciao for now