Santa Maria Antica is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, Italy. The current church is Romanesque in style and dates to 1185, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1117 destroyed the original building that dated back to the end of the period of Lombard domination in the 7th century. The only surviving remains of the 7th-century building is a fragment of black and white mosaic floor. The current building was dedicated by the

patriarch of Aquileia This is a list of bishops and patriarchs of Aquileia in northeastern Italy. For the ecclesiastical history of the diocese, see Patriarchate of Aquileia. From 553 until 698 the archbishops renounced Papal authority as part of the Schism of the T ...

and acted as the private chapel of Verona's ruling Scaligeri family, located beside their family cemetery (the site of the 13th-century Scaliger Tombs). The church has a small

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

bell tower (with three baroque bells) in a purely Romanesque style, with

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

ed windows and a brick-covered spire. Around 1630 the three-nave interior was altered to the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style, though a restoration at the end of the 19th century restored the original Romanesque interior, divided by columns with "sesto rialzato" arches, and with an "incavallature" roof supported by transverse arches, as at the basilica of San Zeno. There are two lateral apses in tuff and cotto, and a central apse with two early 14th-century frescoes. The exterior has alternate bands of

and cotto, with small windows. The side-door is dominated by the arch of

Cangrande I della Scala Cangrande (christened Can Francesco) della Scala (9 March 1291 – 22 July 1329) was an Italian nobleman, belonging to the della Scala family that ruled Verona from 1308 until 1387. He was indeed one of the most important characters at the time ...

, the soberest but most monumental of the family arches. Excavations have found a cemetery near the church, containing fifty 11th-century burials, some aligned north-south, some east-west. The belltower contains two bells cast during the 17th century and rung in the Veronese syle.

Burials

* Alberto I della Scala *

Mastino II della Scala Mastino II della Scala (1308 – 3 June 1351) was lord of Verona. He was a member of the famous Scaliger family of Northern Italy. He was the son of Alboino I della Scala and Beatrice da Correggio. At the death of Cangrande I, he and his broth ...

* Cansignorio della Scala *

Alberto II della Scala Alberto II della Scala (1306 – 13 September 1352) was lord of Verona from 1329 until his death. He was a member of the famous Scaliger family of northern Italy. He was the son of Alboino I della Scala and Beatrice da Correggio. He co-rul ...

Gallery

Arche scaligere (Verona) L'arca di Cangrande.jpg, Tomb of Cangrande above the entrance porch. Santa Maria Antica - Verona.jpg, View of the Interior Santa Maria Antica - Altar.jpg, The high altar {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Antica Verona 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Maria Antica Romanesque architecture in Verona Buildings and structures completed in 1185 Churches completed in the 1180s Burial sites of the Scaliger family