Basilica di Sant'Anastasia

The Basilica di Sant'Anastasia stands on Piazza Sant'Anastasia in the centre of Verona, in Italy's Veneto region, and is the city's largest church. It was begun in 1290 by the Dominican order and built over the following two centuries in the Italian Gothic style, with its facade left partly unfinished. The pointed portal is decorated with fourteenth-century frescoes and carved marble. Inside, the visitor enters a vast nave of three aisles divided by tall columns, covered with painted ribbed vaults and floored with red, white and grey marble. Two holy-water stoups at the entrance are supported by crouching figures known as the gobbi, or hunchbacks, one of them attributed to Paolo Veronese's circle. The most celebrated work is Pisanello's fresco of St George and the Princess over the Pellegrini Chapel arch, painted in the 1430s and admired for its detailed horses, ships and courtly figures. The chapel itself holds terracotta reliefs by Michele da Firenze, and other chapels contain monuments to local families, notably the Cavalli tomb, along with paintings by Altichiero and later Veronese artists. Visitors can walk around the aisles to see altarpieces and tombs, and a visit lasts 30 to 45 minutes. For photography, the nave looking toward the choir and the Pisanello fresco from the right aisle are the standout views. The church is quiet on weekday mornings, with the busiest times being around midday when tour groups pass through; on Sundays it opens only from 1PM. Entry is included in the Chiese Vive ticket, costing EUR 4 for one church or EUR 8 for four. The basilica is about eight minutes on foot from Piazza delle Erbe, via Corso Sant'Anastasia or Via Sottoriva, and close to the Duomo and the Scaliger area. Modest dress is expected, with covered shoulders and knees.