Sant' Anastasia, Verona

One of the sites we visited today was Sant'Anastasia, a Gothic style church of the Dominican Order. The current church was started in 1280 and completed in 1400. It took its name from a pre-existing temple built by King Theoderic the Great upon which was built the actual church.

The 72m tall belltower had four bells in 1460, the fifth was added in 1650. In the 1839, the 9 bells were cast and tuned in C; they are rung in Veronese bellringing art by a local team founded in 1776.

While this church isn’t that exciting or elaborate on the outside, the inside is pretty amazing. The arches and the ceiling are stunning and it always amazes me how these intricate paintings and patterns are created. Even the floor was interesting with many different patterns created using the same tones of marble.

The walls still display some of the original frescoes created in the 15th century as well as terracotta statues from the same era. There are two stoups before the first two columns that stand on two hunchback figures, which aren’t the usual things you see in a church.

Overall this was worth a visit and once again we were impressed by the history of this church.Read more