Certosa di Pavia description and photos - Italy: Pavia (Topic)

Certosa di Pavia description and photos - Italy: Pavia. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Certosa di Pavia.

Photo and description

Certosa di Pavia is an old Carthusian monastery that has become one of the most famous landmarks in Lombardy. The monastery is located 8 km from Pavia on the road to Milan and is known as the tomb of the powerful Visconti and Sforza families, as well as an exceptional example of Lombard art.

The Gothic church on this site was built at the end of the 14th century by the order of Gian Galeazzo Visconti - in those years it stood on the very border of his vast hunting grounds. The temple was designed by Marco Solari, and in the 15th century other members of this family, Giovanni and Guiniforte Solari, worked on the temple. Giovanni Antonio Amadeo gave Certosa a modern look. In 1497, the church was consecrated, although finishing work continued for several more years.

In 1782, by order of the Austrian emperor Joseph II, the Cartesians were expelled from Pavia, and Certosa for several years belonged first to the Cistercians and then to the Carmelites. Only in 1843, the Carthusians bought the monastery, and already in 1866 the building was declared a national monument.

The Pavia Certosa is an unusually eclectic building, whose architecture intertwined features of Northern Gothic and Florentine Renaissance trends. It is known that some of the elements were borrowed by the architects from the Milan Duomo. The inside of the monastery is decorated with works by Bergognone, Perugino, Luini and Guercino. The tomb of Gian Galeazzo Visconti deserves special attention, over which Cristoforo Romano and Benedetto Briosco worked at the end of the 15th century. And at the end of the 16th century, the sculptural decoration of the tomb of Lodovico Moro and Beatrice d'Este from the Milan church of Santa Maria delle Grazie was transported to Certosa. Also worth noticing is the bronze chandelier and stained glass windows by Bergognone and Vincenzo Foppa.

An elegant portal with sculptures by the brothers Mantegazza and Giovanni Antonio Amadeo leads from the church to a small courtyard with a garden in the center. The highlight of this cloister is the terracotta decorations of small columns made by Rinaldo de Stauris between 1463 and 1478. Some of the arcades are decorated with frescoes by Daniele Crespi. Also interesting is the lavabo - a bowl for washing hands - with the image of Christ and Photinia of Samaria at the well. Similar decorations can be seen in the large cloister measuring 125x100 meters. Here the monks' cells go straight into the garden.

Topic: Certosa di Pavia description and photos - Italy: Pavia.