to replace or at least equal Latin developed at different
speeds in different countries, either helped by HUMANISM,
as in Italy, where it was promoted by scholars like
Leonardo SALVIATIand Sperone SPERONI, or hindered by it,
as in Germany (see GERMAN LANGUAGE). The process was
consolidated once there was a sufficient body of literature
in the vernacular of a quality that demanded serious at-
tention from the literary critics (see CRITICISM, LITERARY).
On the other hand, the use of Latin for serious works on
such subjects as law or religion, remained unchallenged
until the 17th century and even later in cases where the
writer wished to reach an international audience.
TRANSLATIONwas a major factor in the advance of the
vernaculars during the Renaissance (see also BIBLE, TRANS-
LATIONS OF; TRANSLATIONS OF CLASSICAL AUTHORS; TRANS-
LATIONS OF CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS). Although motives
for translating the Bible differed from those for translating
the classical Greek and Latin authors, the acknowledged
standing of the original texts in both cases compelled their
translators to exert themselves to the utmost to find an ap-
propriate style in the vernacular, with generally beneficial
results. Translation between vernaculars became an im-
portant means of creating a new European secular culture,
accessible to women and laymen.
Verona A city on the River Adige in the Veneto region of
northern Italy. Verona became a Roman colony in 89 BCE;
it was later ruled by Ostrogoths and taken by Charle-
magne (774). By the 12th century Verona was an indepen-
dent commune frequently torn apart by factional conflicts;
the story of Romeo and Juliet is based on family feuds in Ve-
rona at the start of the 14th century. From 1260 the DELLA
SCALA FAMILYbegan to establish its authority over Verona
first as capitani and from 1300 as hereditary signori. In 1387
Verona passed to the VISCONTI FAMILYof Milan and in
1405 to Venice. Venice ruled Verona until 1797, except for
when the town was occupied by Emperor MAXIMILIAN I.
During the period of the Renaissance Verona was not
only a prosperous center of trade but also an important
bastion of humanist studies and artistic output. The artists
PISANELLO and VERONESE worked in Verona. Notable
buildings include the Castelvecchio (1354), the cathedral
(rebuilt in the 15th century), the church of Sant’ Anasta-
sia, and the fortifications and triumphal gates designed by
the great architect of Verona, Michele SANMICHELI.
Veronese, Paolo (Paolo Caliari) (c. 1528–1588) Italian
artist
Born in Verona, from which he acquired the name by
which he is better known, Veronese was apprenticed to
the local painter Antonio Badile (1486–1541) at age 14.
Badile’s influence is strong upon Veronese’s earliest known
work, the Bevilacqua-Lazise altarpiece (1548). Other early
influences include those of GIULIO ROMANOand TITIAN,
whose use of color and control of illusionistic devices is
reflected in Veronese’s frescoes for the Villa Soranza, ex-
ecuted in collaboration with G. B. Zelotti (1532–78) but
now largely destroyed. Veronese was also moved by the in-
fluence of MICHELANGELOin such paintings as the Tempta-
tion of St. Anthony (1552), executed for Mantua cathedral.
In about 1553 Veronese arrived in Venice, where he
established himself as a leading painter in the mannerist
style (see MANNERISM). As a prolific artist who specialized
in huge paintings on allegorical, biblical, or historical
themes, Veronese was in high demand: typical of his early
work was his decoration of the church of San Sebastiano,
begun in 1555, in which he sought the effective integra-
tion of painting with architecture and continued his experi-
ments with foreshortening and light effects. Particularly
brilliant in these respects was his decoration of the inte-
rior of the Villa Barbaro at Maser (c. 1561), in which
Veronese abandoned his mannerist style in order to react
freely to PALLADIO’s design. Subsequent works included
several notable paintings, including the Marriage at Cana
(1562–63; Louvre, Paris), The Family of Darius before
Alexander (c. 1570; National Gallery, London), and The
Adoration of the Magi (1573; National Gallery, London).
His famous Feast in the House of Levi (1573; Accademia,
Venice), caused a considerable stir by its unconventional
inclusion of such details as a dog and soldiers in what pur-
ported originally to be a version of the Last Supper.
Veronese was called before the Inquisition and, despite his
spirited defense of the intellectual liberty of the artist, was
obliged to change the painting’s title to its present form.
Towards the end of his life Veronese received so many
commissions that he had to rely heavily on workshop as-
sistance. From 1577 he was involved, with TINTORETTO, in
the redecoration of the doge’s palace after a serious fire
there. His brother, Benedetto Caliari (1538–98), assisted
him with this work, which included the magnificent
Apotheosis of Venice (c. 1585) in the ceiling of the Sala del
Maggior Consiglio.
Further reading: Richard Cocke, Veronese (London:
Jupiter, 1980); ∼, Paolo Veronese: Piety and Display in an
Age of Religious Reform (Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate, 2002);
W. R. Rearick, The Art of Paolo Veronese 1528–1588 (Cam-
bridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1988).Verrazzano, Giovanni da (died 1528) Italian explorer
Born in Florence of a noble family, Verrazzano was spon-
sored by a group of bankers to find a western route to
China. He sailed from Brittany with a crew of 50 in a
French ship, La Dauphine, in 1524. On reaching America,
he mistook Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, for a strait
leading to the Pacific and sent home reports which misled
explorers and cartographers for 100 years and caused an
imaginary Sea of Verrazzano (Mare de Verrazana) to ap-
pear on North American maps. The search for a passage to
China was Verrazzano’s sole objective, and although he
did stop in New York Bay, the first European to do so, heVVeerrrraazzzzaannoo,, GGiioovvaannnnii ddaa 4 48899