Five elaborate Gothic sarcophagi built for the Scaligeri — Verona's ruling family from 1262 to 1387 — standing outside the church of Santa Maria Antica in the heart of the old city. Each tomb is a miniature fortress of carved stone: gothic pinnacles, equestrian figures, reliefs of saints and knights. The grandest is that of Cangrande I (died 1329), with a replica of his famous grinning equestrian statue on top (the original is in Castelvecchio). Together they form one of the finest examples of medieval funerary art in Italy. Viewable from the street at any time; entry into the enclosure costs a small fee.
story: > The equestrian statue of Cangrande I on his tomb grins with an expression so incongruously cheerful for a funerary monument that art historians have debated it for centuries. Dante dedicated the first canticle of the Divine Comedy to Cangrande and took refuge at his court during his exile from Florence — the smiling lord of Verona was evidently a man who liked to project an air of good humour even in death.