San Biagio Chapel

The solemn translation of the relics took place at Easter 1508 but the consecration of the chapel was held later, on January 31, 1529, in a ceremony presided over by Gian Pietro Carafa, the future Pope Paul IV.

All the walls of the chapel are frescoed by some of the most important Veronese painters of the 16th century, among whom, in addition to Falconetto, were Bartolomeo Montagna, Paolo Morando (known as Cavazzola), Domenico Morone and Girolamo dai Libri.

The sculptor Bernardino Panteo was entrusted with the creation of the altar into which the relics would later be moved, Bartolomeo Montagna was commissioned to paint four scenes from the life of St. Blaise, while Gian Maria Falconetto and Francesco Morone were designated as painters of the chapel's frescoes.

[9] Finally, on January 31, 1529, Gian Pietro Carafa, the future Pope Paul IV, was able to consecrate the chapel; at that time the abbot of the adjoining monastery was Giovanmaria da Reggio.

[10] All the interior surfaces of the chapel are entirely covered with frescoes by various painters who depicted, embedded in geometric patterns, figures of saints, prophets, angels and allegorical representations.

[15] The exterior façade of the triumphal arch of entry into the chapel is entirely occupied by the depiction of decorative elements, while inside Cavazzola painted, in 1514, the Annunciation and on the sides St. Blaise and St. Zeno within panels.

[17] The young Veronese fresco painter certainly took inspiration from his skills as an architect, since his work is characterized by the depiction of numerous architectural elements, such as cornices, niches, cartouches, pilasters and arches, which he used abundantly to divide the space geometrically within which to insert figures of saints, prophets and allegories.

[18] The decoration of the left side, on the other hand, was mainly taken care of by pupils from the Falconetto workshop; among the various depictions that can be mentioned are those of St. Blaise, St. Dominic, Pope Callixtus I, St. Peter and St.

On the other hand, the triptych, dated 1517 and signed by Girolamo Mocetto, depicts Our Lady and the Child, St. Benedict and St. Justina,[19] and in its predella the portrait, initials and coat of arms of Gianfrancesco Renier, who died in 1517 and probably financed the chapel's construction.

At the bottom, four faces of the polygon accommodate as many paintings that are part of a pictorial cycle, the work of Bartolomeo Cincani (known as Montagna) in which he depicted Scenes from the Life of Saint Blaise and more precisely, from right to left, Blessing of the Animals, Arrest, Torture, and Beheading.

[27] In the center of the apse is the altarpiece by Francesco Bonsignori, who wanted to depict Madonna in Glory and Saints Juliana, Sebastian and Blaise, which was commissioned on July 20, 1514;[28] it arrived, however, in Verona only five years later and after the author's death.

The painting is set in a valuable frame dating back to 1526 made by a certain “Piero intagiador che sta sul corso,” which was later gilded and burnished by Girolamo and Callisto dai Libri.

Effigy of the painter Gian Maria Falconetto at the protomoteca of the Verona Civic Library
Portrait of Pope Paul IV (Gian Pietro Carafa) by Onofrio Panvinio
18th-century plan of the church of Santi Nazaro e Celso , the letter B marks the chapel of San Biagio
Part of the cubic structure, drum and dome
Saint Sebastian painted by Falconetto, detail of the right wall
Dome of the chapel
Gaio Chapel
Britti chapel with a triptych by Girolamo Mocetto .