Cathedral of San Zeno

Romanesque cathedral containing one of Italy's greatest silverworks, the Altar of Saint James

The Cathedral of San Zeno dates from the 12th century and presents a serene Romanesque façade in green and white marble to the piazza. The interior is severe by Italian standards — dark, relatively undecorated, with heavy stone columns and a few good frescoes in the side chapels. The reason to come is the Altar of Saint James in the Chapel of Saint James on the left: an extraordinary silver altarpiece that is one of the great works of Italian medieval craftsmanship, with over 628 figures worked in silver on a single altar panel.

The altar was constructed between 1287 and around 1456, with dozens of different artists contributing over the centuries. The right side is attributed to Brunelleschi in his early career as a goldsmith before he turned to architecture. The level of detail — figures as small as a fingernail, each one individually rendered — rewards close examination. The separate treasury contains other ecclesiastical silver and textiles from the medieval period.

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The silver Altar of Saint James took nearly two centuries to complete, beginning in 1287, and the list of artists who contributed reads like an abbreviated history of Tuscan sculpture. The final additions, around 1400, are attributed to Filippo Brunelleschi — who would later design the dome of Florence Cathedral — making this one of the few places where his work as a goldsmith, rather than as an architect, can be seen.

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