The
Certosa di Pavia ("Charterhouse of Pavia") is a
monasteryMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
complex in
LombardyLombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region...
, northern
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, situated near a small town of the same name in the
Province of PaviaThe Province of Pavia is a province in the region of Lombardy in Italy. City of Pavia is the capital.It has an area of 2,965 km², and a total population of 493,829 . There are 190 communes in the province...
, 8 km north of
PaviaPavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 71,000...
. Built in 1396-1495, It was once located on the border of a large hunting park belonging to the
ViscontiVisconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. Two distinct Visconti families are known: the first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century, who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia, where they became rulers of Gallura; the...
family of
MilanMilan in Italy, is the capital of the region of Lombardia and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while the urban area is the fifth largest in the E.U. with an estimated population of 4.3 million...
, of which today only scattered parts remain.
Certosa is the Italian name for a house of the cloistered monastic order of Carthusians founded by St. Bruno in 1044 at
Grande ChartreuseThe Grande Chartreuse is the head monastery of the Carthusian order. It is located in the Chartreuse Mountains, to the north of the city of Grenoble, in the commune of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse in the Isère département of France. Originally, the house belonged to the see of Grenoble, and Saint...
. Though the Carthusians in their early centuries were known for their seclusion and asceticism and the plainness of their architecture, the Certosa is renowned for the exuberance of its architecture, in both the Gothic and Renaissance styles, and for its collection of artworks which are particularly representative of the region.
History
Gian Galeazzo ViscontiGian Galeazzo Visconti , son of Galeazzo II Visconti and Bianca di Savoia, was the first Duke of Milan and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance...
, hereditary lord and first Duke of Milan, commissioned the building of the Certosa, inaugurating the works and laying the foundation stone on August 27 1396, as recorded by a bas-relief on the facade. The location was strategically chosen midway between Milan and Pavia, the second city of the Duchy, where the Duke held his court.
The church, the last edifice of the complex to be built, was to be the family
mausoleumA mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
of the Visconti. It was designed as a grand structure with a nave and two aisles, a type unusual for the Carthusian Order. The nave, in the Gothic style, was completed in 1465.
However, since the foundation, the Renaissance had spread in Italy, and the rest of the edifice was built according to the new style, redesigned by
Giovanni SolariGiovanni Solari was an Italian architect and engineer.He was born in Carona, Ticino, the son of the architect Pietro Solari, who was chief of the works of the Duomo of Milan. Giovanni Solari directed the construction of the Certosa di Pavia from 1428 to 1462 and that of the Duomo from 1452 to...
continued by his son
Guiniforte SolariGuiniforte Solari was an Italian sculptor, architect and engineer.Born in Carona, Ticino, he was the son of the architect Giovanni Solari, and brother of Francesco Solari....
and including some new cloisters. Solari was followed as director of the works by
Giovanni Antonio Amadeothumb|260px|The Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo.Giovanni Antonio Amadeo was an Italian early Renaissance sculptor, architect and engineer....
, (1481-1499). The church was consecrated on May 3 1497. The lower part of the façade was not completed until 1507.
The construction contract obliged the monks to use part of the revenue of the lands held in
beneficeOriginally a benefice was a gift of land for life as a reward for services rendered. The word comes from the Latin noun beneficium, meaning "benefit"...
to the monastery to continue to improve the edifice. Consequently, the Certosa includes a huge collection of artworks of all centuries from the 15th to the 18th.
In 1782, the Carthusians were expelled by the Emperor Joseph II of Austria, and were succeeded at the Certosa by the Cistercians in 1784 and then by the
CarmelitesThe Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence the order receives its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
in 1789. In 1810 the monastery was closed until the Carthusians reacquired it in 1843. In 1866 it was declared a National Monument and sequestrated by the Italian State, although some Benedictines resided there until 1880. The monks currently living in the monastery are Cistercians admitted to it in the 1960s.
The church
The church is built on a Latin cross plan, with a
naveIn Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, two aisles and
transeptFull descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram.
For the periodical go to The Transept....
, typical of
Gothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. The
chancelIn architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse....
terminates with an
apsethumb|250px|Triple apse of [[Basilica di Santa Giulia]], northern [[Italy]].In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
. It is covered by crossed vaults on Gothic arches and is inspired, on a reduced scale, by the Duomo of Milan. The vaults are alternatively decorated with geometrical shapes and starry skies. The transept and the main chapel end with square-plan chapels with smaller, semi-circular apses on three sides.
The façade of the church is famous for its exuberant decorations, typical of
LombardLombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region...
architecture, every part being decorated with reliefs, inlaid marble and statues. Sculptors who worked on it include
Cristoforo MantegazzaCristoforo Mantegazza was an Italian sculptor who was active from 1464.He was born in Pavia. Among his other works, he collaborated with his brother Antonio on the façade of the Certosa of Pavia , one of the masterworks of northern Italy's Renaissance...
and Giovanni Antonio Amadeo himself. In addition to applied sculpture, the facade itself has a rich sculptural quality because of the contrast between richly textured surfaces, projecting buttresses, horizontal courses and arched openings, some of which are shadowed, while those in the small belfries are open to the sky.
The sober form of the roughly finished brick front can be seen in a fresco by
Ambrogio BergognoneAmbrogio Borgognone Ambrogio Borgognone Ambrogio Borgognone (variously known as Ambrogio da Fossano, Ambrogio di Stefano da Fossano, Ambrogio Stefani da Fossano or as il Bergognone, c...
in the apse of the right transept, painted in 1492-1495, when work was commencing on the new facade, portraying Gian Galeazzo Visconti offering the model of the Certosa to the Blessed Virgin. Its profile, with roofs on three levels, has been compared to the churches of San Giovanni in Monza and San Petronio in Bologna; among the architects in close correspondence at all three projects, Borlini ascribes the form of the original facade at the Certosa to Giacomo da Campione, who was working at Pavia while his uncle Matteo was completing San Giovanni in Monza.
The architect
Giovanni SolariGiovanni Solari was an Italian architect and engineer.He was born in Carona, Ticino, the son of the architect Pietro Solari, who was chief of the works of the Duomo of Milan. Giovanni Solari directed the construction of the Certosa di Pavia from 1428 to 1462 and that of the Duomo from 1452 to...
, in building the double row of arcades down the flanks of the church, modified its appearance. After his death he was succeeded in Pavia by his son
Guiniforte SolariGuiniforte Solari was an Italian sculptor, architect and engineer.Born in Carona, Ticino, he was the son of the architect Giovanni Solari, and brother of Francesco Solari....
, but work came to a halt with the death of Guiniforte in 1478.
In 1492 Giacomo Antonio Dolcebono took up the construction, assisted on site, for he was cocurrently occupied with the cathedrals at Pavia and at Milan and other churches, by his inseparable collaborator on both cathedrals, Giovanni Antonio Amadeo. In their hands the project was thoroughly redesigned. Scores of artists were involved. The classicist style portal is by
Benedetto Brioscothumb|300px|The portal of the Certosa di Pavia.Benedetto Briosco was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, active in Lombardy....
(1501). The porch has a large arch of classicist form resting on paired
Corinthian columnsThe Corinthian order is one of the three biggest classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. It is the most ornate, characterized by a slender fluted column and an elaborate capital decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls. The other two orders were the Doric and the Ionic...
which are each surmounted by a very strongly modelled
corniceA cornice is horizontal molded projection that completes a building or wall; or the upper slanting part of an entablature located above the frieze...
on which the arch rests, the construction being derived from the Classical, used by Brunelleschi, and employed here for a bold and striking effect. The decoration is of bas-reliefs illustrating the
History of the Certosa. Above the central arch is a shallow balcony of three arches, above which rises the central window.
This campaign was interrupted in 1519 as work was going forward by the condition of French occupation in Lombardy after the
War of the League of CambraiThe War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars...
. French troops were encamped round the Certosa. Notations of work on the facade did not resume until 1554, when a revised design under the direction of Cristoforo Lombardo was approved for the completion of the facade above the second arcade; there marble intarsia was substituted for the rich sculptual decorations of the lower area. Some final details were added by
Galeazzo AlessiGaleazzo Alessi was an Italian architect from Perugia, known throughout Europe for his distinctive style based on his enthusiasm for ancient architecture. He studied drawing for civil and military architecture under the direction of Giovanni Battista Caporali.For a number of years he lived in Genoa...
.
Paintings
In the main apse of the church is a fresco by Bergognone celebrating the
Incoronation of Mary between FrancescoFrancesco I Sforza was an Italian condottiero, the founder of the Sforza dynasty in Milan, Italy. He was the brother of Alessandro, with whom he often fought.-Early life:...
and Ludovico SforzaLudovico Sforza Duke of Milan , a member of the Sforza dynasty of Milan, Italy, was the second son of Francesco Sforza, and was famed as patron of Leonardo da Vinci and other artists....
. Other frescoes with saints and prophets were executed by Lombard artists, including a young Bernardino Zenale.
The Certosa has painted masterpieces by Bergognone including the panels of
St. Ambrose (1490), and
San Siro (1491) and, most significantly, the
Crucifixion (1490). Other works by Bergognone are now found in other museums of Europe.
Other paintings in the church include a
Holy Father, remnant of a polyptych by Perugino and panels by
Giovanni Battista CrespiGiovanni Battista Crespi , called Il Cerano, was an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect,-Biography:...
, Il Morazzone, Guercino,
Francesco CairoFrancesco Cairo was an Italian painter active in Baroque Lombardy and Piedmont.He was born and died in Milan. It is not known where he obtained his early training though he is strongly influenced by the circle of il Morazzone, in works such as the Saint Teresa altarpiece in the Certosa di Pavia.In...
and
Daniele CrespiDaniele Crespi was an Italian painter of the Baroque era. He was born in Busto Arsizio, and active mostly in the Milan of Federico Borromeo....
.
In the southern transept is the tomb of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, begun in 1494-1497 by
Giovanni Cristoforo RomanoGiovanni Cristoforo or Giancristoforo Romano was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and medallist.Born in Rome to Isaia da Pisa, he was probably a pupil of Andrea Bregno. He first known works are in the Ducal Palace of Urbino, dating from before 1482...
and
Benedetto Brioscothumb|300px|The portal of the Certosa di Pavia.Benedetto Briosco was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, active in Lombardy....
, but completed only in 1562. The northern transept houses the tomb of
Ludovico SforzaLudovico Sforza Duke of Milan , a member of the Sforza dynasty of Milan, Italy, was the second son of Francesco Sforza, and was famed as patron of Leonardo da Vinci and other artists....
("The Moor"), 7th Duke of Milan, and his wife
Beatrice d'EsteBeatrice d'Este , duchess of Milan, one of the most beautiful and accomplished princesses of the Italian Renaissance, was the daughter of Ercole I d'Este and younger sister of Isabella d'Este and Alfonso d'Este....
. The sculptures on the tomb were carried here in 1564 from the Milanese church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the statues generally being considered the masterwork of
Cristoforo SolariCristoforo Solari also known as il Gobbo was an Italian sculptor and architect. He was the brother of the painter Andrea Solari....
.
Stained glass and other works
The Certosa possesses an important collection of
stained glass windowsThe term stained glass can refer to the material of coloured glass or the craft of working with it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term "stained glass" has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches, cathedrals, chapels, and other significant buildings...
, executed to cartoons by masters active in Lombardy in the 15th century, including Zanetto Bugatto,
Vincenzo FoppaVincenzo Foppa was a Northern-Italian Renaissance painter.He was an elderly contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci. Born at Bagnolo Mella, near Brescia in the Republic of Venice, he settled in Pavia around 1456, serving the dukes of Milan and emerging as one of the most prominent Lombard painters....
, Bergognone and Hans Witz.
There are many notable decorative sculptural works which include the carved wooden choir stalls, the marble altar frontals and the bronze candelabra by
Annibale FontanaAnnibale Fontana was an Italian sculptor, medallist and crystal-worker.Fontana was born in Milan. His first known work is a crystal case, now in the Schatzkammer of Munich, for Albert V of Bavaria . In 1570-1572 he was in Palermo, working for viceroy Francesco Fernardo d'Avalos, of whom he made a...
. Also notable is the high altar from the late 16th century. The crypt sacristy contains, among other treasures, a triptych in
ivoryIvory is formed from dentine and constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals such as the elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, mammoth and narwhal....
and
hippopotamusThe hippopotamus or hippo is a large, mostly plant-eating mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae...
' ivory by Baldassarre degli Embriachi, donated by Gian Galeazzo Visconti.
Small and Grand cloisters
An elegant portal, with sculptures by the Mantegazza brothers and Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, leads from the church to the Small Cloister (in Italian:
Chiostro Piccolo.) This has a small garden in the center. The most striking feature is the terracotta decoration of the small pilasters, executed by Rinaldo de Stauris between 1463 and 1478. Some arcades are decorated by frescoes by Daniele Crespi, now partially ruined. Also noteworthy is the late-14th century
lavaboA lavabo is a device used to provide water for the washing of hands. It consists normally of a ewer or container of some kind to pour water, and a bowl to catch the water as it falls off the hands. In ecclesiastical usage it refers to both the basin in which the priest washes his hands and the...
in stone and terracotta, with scenes of the Jesus with the Woman of Samaria at the Well.
Similar decorations also characterize the Grand Cloister (Italian:
Chiostro Grande), which measures c.125x100 meters. The elegant cells of the monks open to the central garden. The arcades have columns with precious decorations in terracotta, with tondoes portraying saints, prophets and angels, alternatively in white and pink
VeronaVerona is a city in Veneto, northern Italy, one of the seven provincial capitals in the region. It is one of the main tourist destinations in north-eastern Italy, thanks to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, the ancient...
marble. There were once also paintings by Vincenzo Foppa, now disappeared.
Other
The New Sacristy contains a vivid cycle of frescoes by the Sorri brothers, belonging to the late
SeneseSiena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.- History :...
MannerismMannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
. The walls have paintings by Francesco Cairo,
Camillo Procaccinithumb|300px|Nativity by Camillo Procaccini.Camillo Procaccini was an Italian painter. He has been posthumously referred to as the Vasari of Lombardy, for his prolific Mannerist fresco decoration....
, il Passignano and
Giulio Cesare Procaccini Giulio Cesare Procaccini was an Italian painter and sculptor of the early Baroque era in Milan.Born in Bologna he was son of the Mannerist painter Ercole Procaccini the Elder and brother of Camillo Procaccini and Carlo Antonio Procaccini...
, while the altarpiece of 1524 was begun by Andrea Solario, later completed by
Bernardino CampiBernardino Campi was an Italian Renaissance painter from Reggio Emilia, who worked in Cremona. He is known as one of the teachers of Sofonisba Anguissola and of Giovanni Battista Trotti . In Cremona, his extended family were the main artistic studios...
.
Also notable is the refectory, initially used as church during the construction, which has maintained a fresco with the
Last Supper by Ottavio Semino, 1567 and, in the vault, a
Madonna with Child and
Prophets by Bergognone. In the
Foresteria or
Palazzo Ducale, built in the 17th century by Francesco Richino, are frescoes and paintings by Vincenzo and
Bernardino CampiBernardino Campi was an Italian Renaissance painter from Reggio Emilia, who worked in Cremona. He is known as one of the teachers of Sofonisba Anguissola and of Giovanni Battista Trotti . In Cremona, his extended family were the main artistic studios...
,
Bartolomeo MontagnaBartolomeo Montagna was an Italian painter and architect who worked in Vicenza and Venice. He putatively was born near Brescia . His initial training was presumably under Domenico Morone in Verona, where he seems to have acquired a late Quattrocento refinement, similar to that of Carpaccio and...
, Bergognone and
Bernardino LuiniBernardino Luini was a North Italian painter from Leonardo's circle. Both Luini and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio were said to have worked with Leonardo directly; he was described to have taken "as much from Leonardo as his native roots enabled him to comprehend". Consequently many of his works were...
.
In fiction
La Chartreuse de ParmeThe Charterhouse of Parma is a novel published in 1839 by Stendhal. The novel, along with The Red and the Black, is considered Stendhal's finest work.-Plot summary:...
by
StendhalMarie-Henri Beyle , better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology, he is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism in his two novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme...
(Marie-Henri Beyle) is a novel, published in 1839, that rendered its author at last famous throughout Europe.
Parma is about 109 km far away from Pavia. The charterhouse the book refers to is probably the Valserena abbey of Paradigna, located in the surroundings of Parma.
External links