The Scaliger Tombs is a group of five Gothic

Gothic art

Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...

 funerary monuments in Verona

Verona

Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, celebrating the Scaliger

Scaliger

The noble family of the Scaliger were Lords of Verona. When Ezzelino III was elected podestà of the commune in 1226, he was able to convert the office into a permanent lordship...

 family, who ruled in Verona from the 13th to the late 14th century.

The tombs are located in a court of the church of Santa Maria Antica

Santa Maria Antica

Santa Maria Antica is a Roman Catholic church in Verona, Italy. The current church is Romanesque in style and dates to 1185, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1117 destroyed the original building that dated back to the end of the period of Lombard domination in the 7th century...

, separated from the street by a wall with iron grilles. Built in Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 style, they are a series of tombs, most of which are in the shape of a small temple and covered by a baldachin

Baldachin

A baldachin, or baldaquin , is a canopy of state over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over high altars in cathedrals, where such a structure is more correctly called a ciborium when it is...

. According to the French historian Georges Duby

Georges Duby

Georges Duby was a French historian specializing in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages...

, they are one of the most outstanding examples of Gothic art.

Description

The tombs are placed within a wrought iron

Wrought iron

thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...

 enclosure decorated with a stair motif, in reference to the Italian meaning of the name of the family, della Scala. The tombs are those of the following notable members of the Scaliger dynasty:

• Cangrande I
  Cangrande I della Scala
  Cangrande della Scala was an Italian nobleman, the most celebrated of the della Scala family which ruled Verona from 1277 until 1387. Now perhaps best known as the leading patron of the poet Dante Alighieri, Cangrande was in his own day chiefly acclaimed as a successful warrior and autocrat...
  
  . This was the first tomb built, in the 14th century, according to the will of the deceased, the most famous Scaliger ruler of the city. The designer was the architect of the church of Sant'Anastasia, who planned it in the shape of a Gothic tabernacle, supported by richly harnessed dogs (Cangrande meaning "Big dog" in Italian). On the sepulchre's cover is the recumbent statue of the lord, characterized by an unusual smile. The selpuchre is decorated on each side by high-reliefs with religious themes and bas-reliefs with military themes. On the summit of the baldachin was once an equestrian statue of Cangrande, now replaced by a copy (the original is in the museum of Castelvecchio).
• Mastino II
  Mastino II della Scala
  Mastino II della Scala was lord of Verona. He was a member of the famous Scaliger family of northern Italy.He was the son of Alboino I della Scala and Beatrice da Correggio. At the death of Cangrande I, he and his brother Alberto II were associated in the rule of Verona. Soon, however, Mastino's...
  
  . Begun in 1345, this tomb was modified during its construction. It was originally painted and gilt, and is enclosed by a railing with four statues of the Virtues at the corners. The faces of the funerary urn are decorated by religious motifs; on the sepulchre cover lies again the defunct's statue, guarded by two angels. The baldachin has religious themes sculpted on the pediment, and is also surmounted by the equestrian statue of Mastino II.
• Cansignorio
  Cansignorio della Scala
  Cansignorio della Scala was Lord of Verona from 1359 until 1375, initially together with his brother Paolo Alboino.-Biography:...
  
  . Dating from 1375, and the most richly decorated. It was designed by Bonino da Campione
  Bonino da Campione
  Bonino da Campione was an Italian sculptor in the Gothic style, active between 1350 and 1390.His name indicates that he was born in - or into a family originating in - Campione d'Italia, a Lombardy town in an enclave within Switzerland...
  
  , and has sculptures portraying warrior saints, Gospel characters, the Virtues and the Apostles, and the big equestrian statue of Cansignorio.
• Alberto II
  Alberto II della Scala
  Alberto II della Scala was lord of Verona from 1329 until his death. He was a member of the famous Scaliger family of northern Italy....
  
  . Unlike the others, it has no baldachin but only a sarcophagus
  Sarcophagus
  A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
  
  , though richly decorated. It dates from 1301.
• Giovanni. This monument is built into the wall of the church. It was finished in 1359 by Andriolo de' Santi, and until 1400 it was located in the church of San Fermo Maggiore.

External links

• Visit to Scaliger Tomb