and damaged frescoes are all that is left of the decoration once lavished on this house by Andrea Mantegna. Opposite in the little square of S. Micheletto stands a column surmounted by a lamb, placed there to mark that at one time the Guild of Wool—“Arte della Lana”—whose device was a lamb bearing a banner, had their offices there. Immediately beside the column stands the Palazzo Carlotti, a handsome though somewhat heavy edifice of the decadent period, with an ornate door set in a colonnade. This is followed by the Casa Pozzoni, a palace of Venetian Gothic of the fourteenth century, fine and well preserved. Facing it is a still finer building, the Palazzo della Banca Nazionale, with beautiful balconies, windows, and decorations, all good specimens of the best Renaissance date. Further on is the Piazza dei S.S. Apostoli, where a statue to the poet and patriot Aleardi (born in Verona in 1812) was put up in 1878, the very year in which he died. The sculptor was Ugo Zannini, the same who executed the statue to Dante in the Piazza dei Signori. Behind Aleardi’s statue is the church of the S.S. Apostoli, with that of Sta. Fosca and Sta. Teuteria annexed to it. These churches date from very early times, that of the S.S. Apostoli being prior to the eleventh century, and they bear to this day traces of the construction carried out at so remote an epoch. The apse and the belfry are Romanesque; and at the side of the belfry are some primitive stone sarcophagi that belonged of old to three patrician families of Verona. The interior of the church contains some fine Lombard-Byzantine decorations, and some later ones of the Renaissance epoch. The Virgin Saints Sta. Fosca and Sta. Teuteria—(and might one without undue levity or irreverence venture to inquire if this latter were the patron saint of toy terriers?) lie buried in the little church that bears their names. This church is of even earlier date than that of the S.S. Apostoli, being said to belong to the eighth century, and to have been consecrated in 751. There are tombs within it of the Bevilacqua family, whose palace close by was designed by San Micheli, and is looked upon as one of his masterpieces.
Opposite Aleardi’s statue and on the other side of the Corso Cavour is the church of S. Lorenzo, which stands off from the street, and is reached under an archway, which bears a figure of the saint aloft holding his gridiron, and through a picturesque courtyard. It is said that this church is built on the ruins of a Roman basilica dedicated presumably to Venus, and that it dates from the fifth century. The plan is altogether on the lines of the Roman basilicas, and consists of two tiers, the upper one having been set apart for the use of the women. This again was split up into compartments, one being for the virgins, another for the widows, and another for the matrons. The style of this church is Roman-Lombardesque, and in spite of a good deal of misdirected zeal and modern renovation there is much to admire in the building. The plans for restoring it to its original condition are also to be admired and encouraged, and one can but wish success to Don Pietro Scapini, the worthy vicar of the church, for his schemes for lowering the floor to its former level, and for other designs calculated to add to the beauty and interest of the old church of S. Lorenzo. The round towers at the west front are striking and characteristic. They led up formerly to the women’s gallery, and have curious circular basements, not often to be seen, though similar ones exist in one or two other places in Verona. The round arches in the interior of S. Lorenzo are very fine; and the alternate columns and pillars are of Veronese and foreign marbles and have all differently ornamented capitals. The material of which the church is chiefly built—“tufo” and brick—is very effective, and the layers of alternate red and yellow form a mixture of colour at once harmonious and peculiar. The discovery of frescoes on the walls points strongly to the probability that once the church was all covered with paintings; many doubtless having still to come to light, while others have disappeared irretrievably. Above the high altar is a Madonna and Child in the clouds by Domenico Brusasorci, with S.S. John and Lorenzo below (1566).
Emerging again into the Corso Cavour, and on this same right hand side, is the Palazzo Portalupi, with an Ionic front of the eighteenth century, but “barocco” as to style, and over-ornamented. A little higher up—always on the same side—is the Palazzo Canossa, by San Micheli, one of the finest palaces in this Corso, and commanding an extensive view over the Adige and the country beyond it. The next point of interest is the Castel Vecchio, built as we have seen by Cangrande II. between the years 1353 and 1358. It will also be remembered that this second Cangrande della Scala built too the bridge across the river opening out from the castle, whereby he could receive help from Germany, and over which it may be that the hosts of Brandenburg marched to his assistance into the city. A third arch was added to the bridge in later times in order to strengthen it against the impetuous rush of the Adige; and the whole surmounted with the forked battlements wherewith the Scaligers usually crowned their buildings is a marked addition to the beauty of this mediæval stronghold. It is now used as a barrack, but carts and wagons cross under the archway over the bridge, and foot passengers may go in and out as their business or fancy leads them. It is well to stand for a while on the bridge to ponder over the days of yore and to watch the rapid, swirling river as it rushes along, oblivious of Past and Present, and seeking only in headlong fashion to reach the home which awaits it in the far off distant sea.
From the Castel Vecchio the “Stradone di S. Bernardino” leads away to the left till it reaches the church of that name. The entrance into the church is through a cloister, to which some courteous monks open the door, and show the way into the building itself. This is of the fifteenth century, and belongs to the Franciscan brotherhood. The rood screen and organ loft are worthy of notice, but the object of special interest is the beautiful “Cappella Pellegrini,” a gem in its way, and the masterpiece—in so far as a religious edifice is concerned—of San Micheli. It is a circular chapel in Renaissance style, and was erected by Margherita Pellegrini to the memory of her husband. The decorations and classical severity of the pediments, cornices, and pilasters are considered almost faultless as to symmetry and design. The fact that San Micheli did not superintend its completion may account however for some blemishes, and for the falling away from the absolute purity of style which would otherwise have doubtless been preserved. In spite of this it is an exquisite piece of graceful refined work, unique in its way, and an abiding proof of the versatility and power of Verona’s greatest architect. It must be owned that there is no picture of extraordinary renown in this church, those that possessed any special merit having been transferred to the Public Gallery, and copies placed in their stead. There is however a good Crucifixion, by Francesco Morone in the interesting Cappella di Sta. Croce, and other fair work by Nicolò Giolfino and Caroto. To the left of the altar is a good picture by Benaglio of the Madonna and saints, “inscribed with his name, with an architectural background and festoons of fruit and flowers, such as