Arche Scaligere

The Arche Scaligere are the Gothic funerary monuments of the Della Scala family, who ruled Verona from 1262 to 1387, standing in a small enclosure beside the church of Santa Maria Antica near Piazza dei Signori in Verona, in the Veneto region of Italy. The dynasty, known as the Scaligeri, reached its peak under Cangrande I, who sheltered the exiled poet Dante Alighieri and died in 1329. His tomb is the most prominent, placed above the church portal, topped by a copy of his equestrian statue with the famous smiling figure; the original is displayed in Castelvecchio. Beside it stand the monuments of Mastino II and Cansignorio, the latter an elaborate canopied tomb with statues of saints and warriors, carved in the 1370s. The tombs are of local stone and marble, with pointed arches, spires, and canopies, and are enclosed by wrought-iron grilles whose pattern repeats the scala, or ladder, emblem of the family. The grilles are considered an important example of medieval ironwork. The monuments are viewed through the railings from the street, so the experience is architectural rather than museum-like, and there is no curated route; interpretation comes from signs and guides. Over the centuries the tombs were exposed to weather and pollution, and restoration campaigns have cleaned the stone and repaired the sculpture, with copies replacing some of the most vulnerable pieces. The Arche stand within a few steps of Piazza dei Signori, the Palazzo della Ragione and the Torre dei Lamberti, so they are an easy addition to a walk through the medieval civic heart of the city. They illustrate how a ruling family used monumental art to display power, and they tie Verona's history to wider events in Italian medieval politics and literature.