Description of the attraction
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 members 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 order of Gian Galeazzo Visconti - in those years it stood on the very border of his vast hunting grounds. The author of the project of the temple was 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 Carthusians 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, in the architecture of which the features of the Northern Gothic and the Florentine influences of the Renaissance are intertwined. 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, on 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 paying attention to 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 ornaments of small columns made by Rinaldo de Stauris between 1463 and 1478. Some of the arcades are decorated with frescoes by Daniele Crespi. Also of interest is the lavabo - a bowl for washing hands - with the image of Christ and Photinia the Samaritan woman at the well. Similar decorations can be seen in the large cloister measuring 125x100 meters. Here the monks' cells go straight into the garden.
