Verona - Basilica di San Zeno

Already Theodoric the Great, King of the Ostrogoths, may have funded a church, erected over the tomb of Saint Zeno, who, following the legends, was born in Mauretania and died around 380 in Verona.

The erection of the present church began in the 9th century. Soon after San Zeno´s relics were translated into the new church. At that time Charlemagne´s son Pepin (aka "Pepin of Italy") resided in Verona and a large Benedictine monastery grew all around the church. This abbey was the official redidence of the Holy Roman Emperors, when they were travelling to see the Pope in Rome.

When the Magyars invaded Italy in the early 10th century, the church got severely damaged, but the relics were not harmed, as they had been taken out and were hidden. In 967, a new church was built with the patronage of Otto I.

On January 3, 1117, the church was damaged by an earthquake, that ruined so many buildings in Northern Italy. The church was restored and got enlarged in 1138.

Here the choir of the basilica is seen from the east on an early morning in spring. The campanile was completed in 1178.