The Church of Saints Nazarius and Celsus (Italian: Chiesa dei Santi Nazaro e Celso) is a Catholic place of worship in Verona located in the Veronetta district, on the road leading to Porta Vescovo. Its origin can be traced to around the 7th century when an early, simple monastic building that was built in the Lombard era was erected at the foot of the overlooking Mount Castiglione. Part of this shrine, originally dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, still survives with its frescoes and mosaic floors. It was probably a martyrion dedicated to the veneration of the relics of Saints Nazarius and Celsus.

Next to this first building was a church built by the monks during the Lombard rule, perhaps in the Romanesque style, of which nothing remains today except evidence of its existence in the Versus de Verona (late 8th century) and in the Raterian iconography (first half of the 10th century). The first archival mention of the attached monastic community dates from a document of 1035, while later sources report a developing monastery thanks to some beneficia. With a diploma of May 24, 1111, it came under the direct protection of Emperor Henry V in a true vassal-like relationship. In the 13th century Ezzelino III da Romano, who had recently arrived in Verona, stripped the community of monks of their vast possessions and exiled the abbot, as he was concerned about his growing power and aversion. With the subsequent advent of the Scaligeri, the monastery regained its properties but was prevented from reasserting its former political power. After more than a century of decline, in 1444 Pope Eugene IV arranged for the Benedictine community of Verona to be united with the wealthier abbey of Santa Giustina in Padua: this gave the monks a new impetus that enabled them in 1464 to demolish the earlier Romanesque church and begin construction of the present building, the consecration of which took place on January 19, 1483. In 1767 the Benedictine monastery was suppressed and the property acquired by the Venetian Republic, only to be partly handed over four years later to the Benedictine nuns of San Daniele, who made some restorations. Napoleon's edict of 1810 permanently dissolved the monastery, which was demolished to make way for the church.

The present building was constructed in a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles. The portal, set in a simple facade, is reached by crossing the parvis, enclosed by a high wall that separates it from the street. The interior is divided into three aisles, leading to a transept that stands between the nave and the chancel. On the side of each aisle are five altars, each of which is enriched by the presence of an altarpiece surmounted by a lunette, painted by famous Veronese painters, including Antonio Badile, Orlando Flacco, Battista del Moro, and Domenico Brusasorzi. The presbytery vault and the apsidal basin were frescoed by Paolo Farinati, who also created the two canvases placed on either side of the choir. At the end of the right arm of the transept is the Chapel of St. Blaise, completed in 1508 to house the relics of the martyrs St. Blaise and St. Juliana, who were brought there in 1174. The chapel is richly decorated with a pictorial cycle on which Falconetto, Domenico and Francesco Morone, Paolo Morando, Bartolomeo Montagna, Francesco Bonsignori, Girolamo dai Libri, and Moretto, among others, worked.

History

Origin: the martyrion of St. Michael

The present building dates from the 15th century but is only the latest in a series of religious buildings that followed one another over the centuries. The origin of the church of Saints Nazarius and Celsus is very ancient and can be traced back to the construction of an early, simple building at the foot of Mount Castiglione, in whose tuff the apse was excavated, and originally dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. It was probably a martyrion dedicated to the veneration of the relics of Saints Nazarius and Celsus and dating from the early Christian era, between the 6th and 7th centuries, at the dawn of Christianity.. In addition to the apse, this building consisted of a dark cruciform masonry hallway with a transept and barrel-vaulted roof. The walls were decorated with cycles of frescoes in overlapping layers from various periods, some of which were detached in 1881 and moved to the former church of San Francesco al Corso at the Giovanni Battista Cavalcaselle Fresco Museum, while parts of the mosaic floors remain in place... A rudimentary monastery must have stood next to this martyrion..

According to reconstructions by Carlo Cipolla, this sacellum (also referred to by some as a "grotto" or "chapel") was deeply damaged by the Hungarian invasions and in particular during the one of 933, only to be restored at the behest of the bishop of Verona Otberto, who also sponsored the creation of the frescoes. Cipolla deduces this thanks to an inscription from 996 found on the site and now lost, which read, "ANN. AB INCARNC dNi NRI DCCCCXCVI. INDIC X.” However, the two layers of plaster found suggest that additional ones were added to the early ancient frescoes that can be dated around 1180.

Late medieval period: early Romanesque building

No documents have come down about the early medieval monastic building, but the religious complex is mentioned in the Versus de Verona, a poem from the late 8th century, and is clearly recognizable in the so-called Raterian iconography, the oldest graphic representation of Verona, made by Bishop Ratherius around the first half of the 10th century.

In the early 11th century, the gradual increase in population prompted the Benedictine monks to promote the construction of a new building larger than the previous one. This initiative was completed during the last years of the episcopate of Bishop Giovanni,. while its first abbot was a certain Mauro.. In all likelihood this church was to be set on a traditional five-nave basilica plan and was to respect the characteristics of Romanesque architecture, but nothing more is known,. just as nothing is known about the establishment of the Benedictine community on the site.. The first known mention of the existence of the Benedictine monastic community attached to the church, in fact, dates back to a document of 1035 in which it is stated that the abbot at that time was the aforementioned Mauro. Subsequent sources report of a monastery that was clearly growing thanks to the attribution of a number of beneficia in the provinceThese benefices covered several properties in Lavagno, Mezzane, Illasi and Garda. In particular, in 1037, Bishop Giovanni with a diploma donated some estates near Coriano, Rivalta, Vighizzolo and Gazzo: "Ego Joannes quamvis indignus divina tamen disponente gratia episcopali… et per hanc meam concessionem ibidem disposui confirmari, videlicet Corlianum cum omni iure, Rivalta, Graziolo, villa Vigizolo seu vinei vel terris dominibus quoque tam infra civitatem positis... anno dominacae incarnationis millesimo trigesimo septimo. Indicione quinta." In and in . granted by the bishops who succeeded one another at the head of the Veronese diocese..

With a diploma of May 24, 1111, the monastery came under the direct protection of Emperor Henry V: this act specified how no other authority, including the bishop, could claim any jurisdictional power over it and its property; it also gave the abbot the power to administer justice, both civil and criminal, in a true vassal-like relationship. This relationship was confirmed by certain obligations on the part of the abbot that, though little more than formal, were typical of this legal position. Among other obligations were that of celebrating one mass a day for the emperor and twelve on the anniversary of his departure, and providing a horse for the Veronese bishop whenever he had to move at the will of the emperor. The abbot also had the power to appoint knights and militia and thus to establish his own militia to defend the monastery..

A papal bull issued by Adrian IV on May 30, 1158 confirmed the monastery, then ruled by Abbot Clement, its privileges and assured papal protection. At that time the monastery possessed a hostel and a hospital, in which a German baron named Boniface, part of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa's retinue in what would go down in history as the Third Crusade, was housed on December 3, 1174. Boniface died shortly thereafter, but before he died he decided to pay homage to the abbot who had assisted him, Father Adriano, of the bodies of the martyrs St. Blaise and St. Juliana that he had stolen from the Holy Land. The monks decided to temporarily store the precious relics under the high altar...

By the next century, the monastery had acquired such wealth and power that it led Ezzelino III da Romano, who had recently arrived in Verona, to order the exile of Abbot Bonifacio, who was considered politically adverse, and to confiscate the abbey's vast possessions.. The monks had to wait for Mastino I della Scala's rise to power to regain their possessions, but the Scaliger lordship avoided giving him any political power...

The 15th century was marked by a profound decline of the monastery, both in terms of its financial resources and the number of monks, which inexorably decreased. The efforts of Abbot Bartolomeo Mazzetti, who died in 1442, and of the benefits granted by Pope Martin V with the bull of January 11, 1419, were to no avail. In 1444 Pope Eugene IV ordered that the monastery of Saints Nazarius and Celsus be united with the prestigious abbey of Santa Giustina in Padua, which enjoyed far greater fortunes...

The construction of the present building

The union with the Paduan abbey gave new strength to the monastery, so much so that around the second half of the 15th century the construction of the present building proceeded. The beginning of the work, recorded in an inscription above the entrance portal of the facade, took place on October 15, 1464, shortly after the demolition of the previous Romanesque building. At that time, Guglielmo da Milano held the position of abbot.. According to what is documented on the inscription, the work on the exterior walls was completed on April 6, 1466,The text of the inscription is as follows: "CAPXH // III. ID . OCTOBRIS // MCCCCLXIIII // .DISCE . VTRVNQVE .SIMVL . GRAE // CO. SVB . GRAMATE . TEMPVS . // . ID . MIHI . PRINCIPVM .FINIS . // ET . ILLE . FVIT . // TEVOS // VIII. ID. APRILIS // MCCCCLXVI." however, the finishing work continued for about twenty years, during which times of interruption and resumption alternated. The opening for worship took place on January 19, 1483 in the presence of Abbot Gianfrancesco, Archbishop Marco Cattaneo of Durrës, vicar of the Verona bishop, and Cardinal Giovanni Michiel, who proceeded with the consecration...

The new construction was an opportunity to find a worthy location for the relics of the martyrs that had arrived from the Holy Land, which were greatly venerated by the people of Verona. It was therefore decided to entrust Beltrame Jarola (known as Beltramo da Valsolda) with the construction of a dedicated chapel; work began on March 7, 1488, with Girolamo da Piacenza at the head of the monastery. The following year a confraternity, called “di San Biagio,” was established and given the task of financing and overseeing the building. The chapel, in the Renaissance style and located at the end of the left arm of the transept, was completed twenty years later, and on April 24, 1508, the sacred relics were moved there. However, the consecration had already taken place on July 30, 1491.