Scaliger Tombs in Verona, Italy

The Scaliger Tombs, located in Verona, Italy, are an extraordinary complex of Gothic funerary monuments. These tombs hold the remains of the Lords of the Della Scala family, who ruled Verona from 1262 to 1387. The tombs are located outside the Church of Santa Maria Antica in a fenced area that creates an evocative monumental Gothic open-air cemetery. Each tomb is a triumph of spires, pinnacles, flying buttresses, tabernacles, and statues that rise towards the sky.

The tombs are elaborate Gothic aedicules sculpted in white marble and limestone, decorated with pinnacles, spires, equestrian statues, heraldic coats of arms, and bas-reliefs that celebrate the military exploits and power of the Scaligeri. The Scaliger Tombs reach peaks of sculptural virtuosity, and each tomb is a unique example of Gothic funerary art in Italy. The Della Scala family rose to power in Verona in 1262 when Mastino I Della Scala became podestà and then lord of the city.

Under the Scaligeri, Verona experienced its period of maximum medieval splendor; the city expanded territorially, conquering Vicenza, Padua, Treviso, and other Venetian cities, becoming one of the most powerful regional states of northern Italy. The Scaliger lords were patrons of the arts and protectors of artists and men of letters, including Dante Alighieri who found hospitality in Verona during his exile from Florence.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons