The basilica of San Zeno is considered one of the masterpieces of medieval architecture. The current church was built on the site where at least five other religious buildings had been built previously. During the invasions of the Hungarians, which raged between 899 and 933, the church suffered considerable damage, so much so that in 967 Bishop Raterio had to promote a new reconstruction. Around the end of the 11th century and the beginning of the 12th, a huge project to renovate the church in Romanesque style was undertaken. The works came to a halt due to the devastating Verona earthquake of 1117, however by around 1138 much of what is the current church had been completed. Over the following centuries the building underwent further modifications and transformations which, however, did not modify its layout, maintaining its medieval origins substantially unchanged. The rose window, which was the work of Brioloto de Balneo, is decorated with six statues that depict the alternating phases of human life, that is, of Fortune (in the Latin sense of "destiny") and for this reason it is known as the "Wheel of Fortune".
The prothyrum is signed by the master Niccolò and was made in the 12th century. At the base, two stylophorous lions represent the guardians of the church, those who prevent the entry of undeserving souls (it is no coincidence that they hold two intruders under their paws). On the sides of the prothyrum and the portal there are 18 high reliefs dating back to the 12th century, the scenes in the bas-reliefs present both sacred subjects, taken from the New and Old Testament, and profane subjects, with Theodoric the Great as the protagonist. The main entrance of the basilica is closed by a famous bronze portal made in different eras, not precisely determined, by different master foundries. It is made up of a total of 73 bronze panels of various sizes fixed to wooden doors by means of large iron nails and arranged without apparent symmetry and bearing scenes from the Old and New Testaments and the miracles of San Zeno. The presbytery is raised above the basilica floor and can be reached via two staircases located in the side aisles and therefore crossing the pier-partition already described. On the walls there are several overlapping frescoes from different eras. In the small apse on the left, the red and colored marble statue portraying the patron saint called "San Zeno who laughs", created by an anonymous person from the 12th century. The most important work located in the presbytery is the altarpiece by Andrea Mantegna, considered a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance painting. The subject of the polyptych is the Madonna with Child and Saints in the upper triptych and scenes from the life of Jesus in the predella. The Crypt, ruined during the earthquake of 1117, was rebuilt during the works carried out throughout the building between that year 1138, and underwent a further restoration around the end of the 12th century. In the apse of the crypt is the body of Saint Zeno, kept in an exposed sarcophagus consecrated in 1939, with his face covered by a silver mask and dressed in pontifical robes.
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Filmed with SONY RX10M3 and INSTA360 X3 in October 2023