Italy Guide
The Veneto
Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore
Opening time: March– Oct Mon– Sat 8.30am–6pm, Sun 1–6pm; Nov– Feb Tues– Sat 10am–1pm & 1.30–4pm, Sun 1–5pm
Price: €2.50
A little over 1km northwest of the Castelvecchio is the Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore, one of the most significant Romanesque churches in northern Italy. A church was founded here, above the tomb of the city's patron saint, as early as the fifth century, but the present building and its campanile were put up in the first half of the twelfth century, with additions continuing up to the end of the fourteenth. Its large rose window, representing the Wheel of Fortune, dates from the early twelfth century, as does the magnificent portal, whose lintels bear relief sculptures representing the months – look also for St Zeno trampling the devil. Extraordinary bronze panels on the doors depict scenes from the Bible and the Miracles of San Zeno, their style influenced by Byzantine art; most of those on the left are from around 1100, and most of the right-hand panels date from a century or so later. Inside the lofty interior the most compulsive image is the high altar's luminous Madonna and Saints by Mantegna.