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All but one of the monuments are in an enclosed area of the churchyard on the North side of Santa Maria Antica in Verona. The exception is that of Cangrande I, who died in 1329, which is above the North door of the church. The two detached tombs to which Ruskin refers are those of Mastino II, built between 1345 and 1350, during his lifetime, and of Cansignorio, who in died in 1375, but commissioned the tomb during his lifetime.
Haskell (1993) p.262 draws attention to the references to these tombs by Michelet, who saw in them ‘the whole historical drama of the Middle Ages’ (Journal, vol. 1, p. 265, entry for 21 July 1842, cited by Haskell (1993)), and evidence of changing attitudes to death. Those who believed in immortality of the soul had little need of elaborate tombs; the most magnificent Scala tomb was that of Cansignorio who murdered his brother (Jules Michelet, Histoire de France, vol iv (1840) pp 155-9, cited by Haskell). Compare Ruskin’s use of similar ideas at Works, 9.87-90.
There are references to these monuments in M2 at Notebook M2 p.6L, 17L, 22, 123, 124, 128L, 136 (though the interest there is in the red and white brick ‘seen also behind my Scala monuments’); Notebook M2 p.171L; Notebook N p.43; Verona Book p.8, 9.
There are images on the pages facing Works, 11.90, Works, 14.423 [n/a] (by Prout), Works, 19.429 [n/a], 440 [n/a], Works, 21.30 [n/a], 197 [n/a].
For the tomb of Cangrande from Ruskin’s Educational series see here and for the same tomb from the Reference Series see here. For the tomb of Mastino II from Ruskin’s Reference Series see here. For a study from Ruskin’s reference series of one of the niches of the tomb of Cansignorio, with the house behind mentioned at Notebook M2 p.128L, see here.
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[Version 0.05: May 2008]