Arche Scaligere

The Scaliger Tombs stand beside Santa Maria Antica in Verona. Canopied monuments, equestrian figures and simpler sarcophagi preserve the Della Scala dynasty's funerary landscape near its former centres of power.

Why it matters

The tombs turn family commemoration into a public expression of lordship. The monuments of Cangrande I, Mastino II and Cansignorio combine religious imagery with representations of rulers, armour and horses, giving political authority an enduring sculptural form.

What to notice

Cangrande's monument rises over the church's southern portal, with an equestrian figure crowning its canopy. The originals of the horseback statues of Cangrande and Mastino II are preserved at Castelvecchio; copies occupy the tombs. Cansignorio's hexagonal tabernacle, by Bonino da Campione, surrounds the ruler's image with saints, warriors and kings. Wrought-iron railings define the cemetery's enclosure.

Context and history

The monumental tombs developed during the fourteenth century alongside earlier and simpler burials. Cangrande's monument reworked the local precedent of Guglielmo da Castelbarco's tomb at Sant'Anastasia. Later rearrangements and the transfer of vulnerable sculpture to the museum added a history of conservation to the medieval ensemble.