The Basilica of San Zeno in Verona is an extraordinarily beautiful church which I recently had the pleasure of visiting. Saint Zeno, who was born in Africa, was one of the earliest Bishops of Verona and converted the whole town to Christianity. The Basilica, which houses his relics, dates from the 10th/11th centuries and is one of the most perfect examples of Romanesque architecture in Northern Italy. The façade, of alternating tufa stone and bricks, is dominated by Brioloto’s Wheel of Fortune, a large engraved rose window. Stairs lead down to the Crypt which contains Saint Zeno’s remains, beneath the upper church.
Statues of Christ and the Apostles stand on the parapet of the upper church:
Detail of the carving on the pillars of the crypt:
