Verona (Italy) -- Description and travel; Verona (Italy) -- History
The other tombs all stand in a piece of enclosed ground round the
church, and are fenced in with a railing of beautiful wrought ironwork,
buckled together so as to be shaken easily by the hand, and adorned at
every point with the family device of the ladder. The first tomb inside
this small cemetery is that of Mastino I., the founder of the family,
who rests under a plain marble sarcophagus, whereon is carved a cross,
and where are engraved not only the Scala arms, but those too of Antonio
Nogarola, who was with Mastino at the moment when he was assassinated,
and who shared the same fate, and evidently the same grave. Beyond that
is the tomb of Mastino’s brother, Alberto I., who died in 1301. This too
is of red marble, but much more ornamented than the first, where besides
a relief of Alberto kneeling before the Blessed Virgin, are other
reliefs of palm branches, heraldic devices, griffins, birds, and so
forth. But the monuments which claim especial attention after that of
Cangrande I., are those of Mastino II., and of his son Consignorio.
These are likewise formed of three stories, having the equestrian statue
above the apex, and the recumbent figure laid upon the sarcophagus. Each
however is in its turn more decorated, richer in design and carving, and
more elaborate both as to conception and execution than that of the
“Great Dog.” The tomb of Mastino II. is by one Perino of Milan, and the
bold, fine way in which the architect has planned and carried out his
work proves him to have been a master of his art. His plan of placing
the pyramid or apex with the horse and his rider on the four pillars of
Verona marble is very striking; while the perfect way in which these
shafts bear the weight laid on them is a model of skill and of beauty.
On the façades of the arches are high reliefs representing Old Testament
characters; and the bas-reliefs on the stone coffin are equally taken
from Old Testament stories. Mastino is shown with his vizor drawn and
his features completely hidden from view. As has been seen in Mastino’s
history, his actions were not always honourable, nor his expeditions
always successful. The legend (alluded to in chapter iv.) as to his
never having shown his face again, even to his wife Taddea da Carrara,
after the murder of the bishop Bartolomeo della Scala (1338), would seem
to have taken shape in his monument, and his desire as to concealing his
features even after death was evidently respected to the end.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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