[note 3][2] It was also a collegiate church, the seat of a chapter of canons who also ran a schola iuniorum (i.e., a school in which the first notions of Latin grammar were taught to local boys, from among whom new clerics were often chosen).

[3][4] In addition to the interesting architectural structure, the adjacent cloister and the frescoes inside, of great value is an ancient ciborium that has inscriptions placing it in the middle of the Lombard era, specifically in the period of Liutprand's reign.

The inhabitants of this village practiced essentially agriculture and animal husbandry and are considered the ancestors of the Arusnates, a population that would settle in Valpolicella during the Roman period.

and the 1st century A.D., such as a sarcophagus consisting of a monolith made of red Verona marble, a well, column remains, and a capital decorated with plant friezes and other unidentifiable ashlars.

Smaller artifacts, such as votive offerings to pagan gods, stelae, terracotta figurines, and Roman inscriptions, are kept in the small museum attached to the church or in the Maffeian lapidary in Verona.

These artifacts, being mostly dedicated to deities such as Fortuna, Vesta, Sol and Luna, testify to the importance that San Giorgio had, as a place of worship, since the time of the Arusnates.

A fragment of a plaque bearing the inscription "LVALDE," the name of the goddess Lualda, which would recall that of the deity Lua, associated, in the Roman pantheon, with Saturn and regarded as the protector of agriculture, has been walled up on the back of the church.

Although characterized by modest settlements (the few artifacts found attest to this), in the Middle Ages the area of San Giorgio was certainly an important religious center.

[6] The current eastward orientation of the facade and especially the inscriptions on the two small columns of the ciborium, preserved inside the church, suggest that the Catholic building arose on a pre-existing place of worship built in the Lombard age.

[note 5] In addition to the sacellum, there was a Lombard castle in San Giorgio, placed at the head of a sculdasia, i.e. a minor district within the duchies, which had extensive administrative, military and jurisdictional powers.

Pope Eugene III, in the aforementioned papal bull, records, "Plebem S. Georgii cum capellis et decimis et familiis et dimidia curte.

The parish church of San Giorgio has aroused interest in scholars since the seventeenth century,[note 6] and particularly in Scipione Maffei, who took the two columns of the ciborium and some Roman inscriptions to enrich his Veronese lapidary museum.

In the nineteenth century numerous accurate studies about the plan of San Giorgio were undertaken by Girolamo Orti Manara;[12][13] he had, among other things, the merit of finding the ciborium column bearing the inscription "In nomine Domini...".

On the western side, according to some scholars belonging to the original Lombard building, there is an additional apse, where the main entrance door in Gothic style and made of red and white limestone was carved already before 1840.

The main door is surmounted by a plaque bearing the words: "Exultantly, the entire population of S. Giorgio Valpolicella wishes this marble to remind their later grandchildren of the centenary solemn honors to the beloved heavenly patron celebrated on April 23, 24, 25, 26, 1903."

The most remarkable perimeter side of the cloister is definitely the one located further east: here the colonnade has fourteen arches divided by a monolithic pillar made of a light-colored, squared stone.

[23] The bell tower is built on a square plan and its composition, in limestone of different sizes freshly hewn placed in horizontal rows, recalls the construction of the church's perimeter walls.

On the western flank the belfry is formed by a trifora (characteristic of late Veronese Romanesque architecture), under which is a clock, with composite stone arches supporting two monolithic columns with simple capitals.

On both sides the columns and pillars support eight longitudinal arches, with soffits decorated with circles, floral motifs, stars, and chalices, painted red.

[25] In the apse located to the west there is now a neo-Gothic opening,[2] which is the main entrance to the parish church of San Giorgio and is, inside, surrounded by frescoes.

This part, most likely, belonged to the earlier Christian church, along with the large immersion baptismal font, made from a single block of stone, now located to the left of the entrance.

[21] The mensa, which serves as the high altar, supports the ciborium, and consists of a stone slab bearing an inscription regarding its consecration, which presumably took place in August 1412.

[9] On the opposite side, in the area of the present altar, is a triumphal arch trimmed with meanders, in which figures reminiscent of an angel, the baptism of Christ, and three old men in reddish robes with a green background can be seen.

[5] On the southern wall of the church, along the right aisle, is a fresco, dated to the 14th or 15th century, depicting the Last Supper characterized by the members of the banquet talking to each other and intent on pouring and drinking red wine as well as cutting and eating bread and fruit.

The others, on the other hand, are briskly in dialogue with each other and uninvolved in this event; there are those who are intent on drinking red wine and those who are pouring it into the glass, those who are cutting bread or fruit, and those who are eating.

[30] The ciborium, now used as the high altar, represents one of the most remarkable parts of the church, both for the historical evidence it bears (due to the precise inscriptions engraved here, a rare case for works from the Lombard-medieval period) and for its valuable artistic value.

Its restoration is due to Alessandro Da Lisca, inspector of the monuments of Verona,[35] who notes, however, that in all probability, as evidenced by the discovery of as many as seven archivolts, it must have originally been far more sumptuous and complete.

[note 14][36] On the ciborium, interlaced ribbon decorations represent a feature also found in other Lombard works, for example in votive crosses, the altar of Duke Rachis, and the baptismal font of Patriarch Callistus in Cividale del Friuli.