Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/235

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
LEFT
197
RIGHT

VERONA 197 VERONESE erected by Gallienus in a. d. 265. Among the other Roman remains is the Arco del Leoni. In the architecture of Verona there is a gap extending from the 3d to the 12th century from the amphitheater in the days of Diocletian to the Church of San Zeno in the time of Friedrich Barbarossa. The latter edifice is the great example of what Freeman very aptly calls "the barbaric form of Italian Romanesque." The nave in its present fonn was begun in 1139, and the choir dates from the 13th century. A notable feature is the great Campanile; the pro- jecting portal rests on lions of red mar- ble, the interior has an open roof sup- ported by fine pillars and columns. The Cathedral of Santa Maria Matri- colare is an imposing Gothic structure of the 14th century. At the portal are Ro- land and Oliver, the paladins of Karl the Great, and over the altar is a cele- brated Assumption by Titian. The little church of St. Stephen on the E. or Thec- doric's side of the river at one time dis- puted with the great Duomo the first place among the churches of Verona, as the seat of her bishops in life, and their resting place in death. Other notable churches are the Gothic S. Anastasia (begun 1261), with marble facade; S. Giorgio in Braida (1604), designed by Sammicheli, and adorned with pictures by Tintoretto, Veronese, etc.; S. Fermo Maggiore, of the 14th century, with rich interior; and S. Nazzaro e Celso, a work of the Renaissance. Verona has many fine palaces, including the Palazzo del Consiglio ("La Loggia"), restored in 1873, with statues of famous Veronese, comprising Cornelius Nepos, Catullus, Vitruvius, the younger Pliny, ^milius Macer, etc.; and the Palazzo Pompei alia Vittoria, now containing the Civic Mu- seum and valuable picture gallery. A unique Gothic structure is the tomb of the Delia Scala family, who were presi- dents of the republic of Verona for up- ward of a century. On the left bank of the Adige rises the Castello S. Pietro, the stronghold of Theodoric, which was remodeled by Galeazzo Visconti in 1393, and which, after being dismantled by the French (1801), was refortified by the Austrians in 1849. The adjoining Giar- dino Giusti is noted for its venerable cypresses, some of which are over 400 years old, and attain a height of 120 feet. The seat of a bishop, a prefect, a tri- bunal, a commander-general, etc., Verona has numerous educational and benevolent institutions. There is an important tran- sit trade with Germany, and among the leading manufactures are silks, woolens, cottons, musical instruments, furniture. etc. Verona is one of the oldest towns of Italy, its earliest inhabitants being either the Euganei or the Celtic Ceno- manit It became a flourishing colony un- der the Romans. Here Decius defeated the Emperor Philip in 249, Constantine overthrew the army of Maxentius in 312, and Stilicho hurled back the hosts of Alaric in 403. After his defeat of Odo'- acer (489) at Verona, Theodoric made it his alternative residence, and it was sub- sequently called Walsch-Bern, or Diet- richs-Bern, to distinguish it from "Ve- rona in montibus." The city suffered during the Ghibelline wars, but pros- pered under the Scaligers (1262-1387), who were succeeded by the Visconti and Carrara families. It escaped the tyranny of hereditary rulers by trans- ferring its allegiance in 1405 to Venice, whose fortunes it subsequently shared. The city was several times bombarded by Austrian airplanes during the World War. Pop. about 75,000. VERONESE, PAUL (PAOLO), the name by which Paolo Caliari (or Ca- gliari), an Italian artist of the Venetian school, is usually known, from his hav- ing been born at Verona, probably in 1528. A sculptor'f son, he studied paint- ing under an uncle, Antonio Badile, and, PAUL VERONESE after some work in his native city and Mantua, in 1555 settled in Venice, where he rapidly acquired both wealth and rep- utation. He had for contemporaries both Titian and Tintoretto, and, though 50 years Titian's junior, was held in equal admiration with these famous painters. The Church of San Sebastiano, in Venice, contains many of his pictures (both frescoes and easel pictures, from the story of Esther, martyrdoms, etc.) which are reckoned the most important of his earlier period — the period before