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Certosa di Pavia
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Certosa di Pavia
The Certosa di Pavia is a monastery complex in Lombardy, Northern Italy, situated near a small village of the same name in the Province of Pavia, 8 km (5.0 mi) north of Pavia. Built from 1396 to 1495, it was once located at the end of the Visconti Park a large hunting park and pleasure ground belonging to the Visconti dukes of Milan, of which today only scattered parts remain. It is one of the largest monasteries in Italy.
Certosa is the Italian translation of Charterhouse: a monastery of the cloistered monastic order of Carthusians founded by St. Bruno in 1044 at Grande Chartreuse. 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.
Gian Galeazzo Visconti, hereditary lord and first Duke of Milan, commissioned the building of the Certosa from the architect Marco Solari, laying the foundation stone on 27 August 1396, as recorded by a bas-relief on the façade. The location was strategically chosen midway between Milan and Pavia, the second city of the Duchy, where the Duke held one of his courts, at the end of the Visconti Park, which connected the Certosa to the castle of Pavia.
The Certosa is also the result of the political aspirations of Gian Galeazzo. In a coup in 1385, Gian Galeazzo had deposed his uncle Bernabò Visconti, replacing him as lord of the former Visconti domains including Milan. However, like his father Galeazzo II, Gian Galeazzo resided and maintained his court in Pavia, the former capital of the Lombard kings and of the kingdom of Italy. Gian Galeazzo aspired to re-establish a new kingdom in Northern Italy, matching these historical examples.
In 1386, the people of Milan decided to rebuild Milan Cathedral. However, relations between Gian Galeazzo and the heads of the Fabbrica del Duomo (the consortium of masons and builders chosen by the citizens of Milan) were often tense: the lord intended to transform Milan cathedral into a dynastic mausoleum of the dynasty, putting the funeral monument of his father Galeazzo II in the central part of the cathedral. This raised strong opposition from both the Fabbrica and the Milanese, who zealously guarded their autonomy. Ultimately Gian Galeazzo chose to build a new church: the Certosa of Pavia, to serve as a mausoleum for the Visconti dynasty. Unscrupulously, he assigned many employees of the Fabbrica del Duomo, such as Giacomo da Campione or Giovannino de 'Grassi for this new projects. For the Duke, the Duomo became the church for burial of nobles, patricians, people, artisan and merchant guilds of Milan, while the Certosa would service the Duchy.
The church, the last edifice of the complex to be built, was to be the family mausoleum 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.
Given the absence of marble and stone quarries near the Certosa, around the middle of the fifteenth century, stone material became scarce for construction. The Carthusians enjoyed substantial income from the vast agricultural lands donated by Gian Galeazzo Visconti and his successors the Sforza. Unlike other large Lombard fabbrici, the Cathedral of Pavia, never acquired their own marble quarries, but always relied on private suppliers, often relying mainly on the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano. By 1463 the Milanese yard supplied the marble for the capitals of the cloisters, and in 1473 a contract between the Fabbrica del Duomo and the monks of the Certosa, stipulated the Fabbrica undertook to guarantee a continuous supply of marble and building stone to the Certosa. Control over the marble was entrusted to Guiniforte Solari, who at the time was responsible for both construction sites. The materials, which, similarly to those for the Milan Cathedral, enjoyed the ducal exemption from duties, reached the Certosa via the Navigliaccio and were disembarked in Binasco, from where they continued by cart to the construction site, however, after the restoration of the section navigation between Binasco and Pavia (1473) it was possible to unload the marbles and stones directly at the Certosa. Also in 1473 the work of coating and decoration of the façade of the monastery began, for which the Carthusians decided to use, a unique case in the Lombard area, the Carrara marble, then considered of greater value than that of Candoglia and the cost of which was higher than the other materials available in the Ossola area.
By 1476 the Carthusians formed relations with some families of merchants and quarrymen of Carrara, such as the Maffioli, tenants of the quarries of the Marquis Malaspina. The precious marble, after being embarked in Carrara, circumnavigated Italy and arrived by ship at the mouth of the Po, from where it then went up to Pavia. The traffic of Carrara marble towards the Certosa was so voluminous that the Carthusians themselves came to resell it to other Lombard shipyards and in particular to the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano.
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Certosa di Pavia
The Certosa di Pavia is a monastery complex in Lombardy, Northern Italy, situated near a small village of the same name in the Province of Pavia, 8 km (5.0 mi) north of Pavia. Built from 1396 to 1495, it was once located at the end of the Visconti Park a large hunting park and pleasure ground belonging to the Visconti dukes of Milan, of which today only scattered parts remain. It is one of the largest monasteries in Italy.
Certosa is the Italian translation of Charterhouse: a monastery of the cloistered monastic order of Carthusians founded by St. Bruno in 1044 at Grande Chartreuse. 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.
Gian Galeazzo Visconti, hereditary lord and first Duke of Milan, commissioned the building of the Certosa from the architect Marco Solari, laying the foundation stone on 27 August 1396, as recorded by a bas-relief on the façade. The location was strategically chosen midway between Milan and Pavia, the second city of the Duchy, where the Duke held one of his courts, at the end of the Visconti Park, which connected the Certosa to the castle of Pavia.
The Certosa is also the result of the political aspirations of Gian Galeazzo. In a coup in 1385, Gian Galeazzo had deposed his uncle Bernabò Visconti, replacing him as lord of the former Visconti domains including Milan. However, like his father Galeazzo II, Gian Galeazzo resided and maintained his court in Pavia, the former capital of the Lombard kings and of the kingdom of Italy. Gian Galeazzo aspired to re-establish a new kingdom in Northern Italy, matching these historical examples.
In 1386, the people of Milan decided to rebuild Milan Cathedral. However, relations between Gian Galeazzo and the heads of the Fabbrica del Duomo (the consortium of masons and builders chosen by the citizens of Milan) were often tense: the lord intended to transform Milan cathedral into a dynastic mausoleum of the dynasty, putting the funeral monument of his father Galeazzo II in the central part of the cathedral. This raised strong opposition from both the Fabbrica and the Milanese, who zealously guarded their autonomy. Ultimately Gian Galeazzo chose to build a new church: the Certosa of Pavia, to serve as a mausoleum for the Visconti dynasty. Unscrupulously, he assigned many employees of the Fabbrica del Duomo, such as Giacomo da Campione or Giovannino de 'Grassi for this new projects. For the Duke, the Duomo became the church for burial of nobles, patricians, people, artisan and merchant guilds of Milan, while the Certosa would service the Duchy.
The church, the last edifice of the complex to be built, was to be the family mausoleum 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.
Given the absence of marble and stone quarries near the Certosa, around the middle of the fifteenth century, stone material became scarce for construction. The Carthusians enjoyed substantial income from the vast agricultural lands donated by Gian Galeazzo Visconti and his successors the Sforza. Unlike other large Lombard fabbrici, the Cathedral of Pavia, never acquired their own marble quarries, but always relied on private suppliers, often relying mainly on the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano. By 1463 the Milanese yard supplied the marble for the capitals of the cloisters, and in 1473 a contract between the Fabbrica del Duomo and the monks of the Certosa, stipulated the Fabbrica undertook to guarantee a continuous supply of marble and building stone to the Certosa. Control over the marble was entrusted to Guiniforte Solari, who at the time was responsible for both construction sites. The materials, which, similarly to those for the Milan Cathedral, enjoyed the ducal exemption from duties, reached the Certosa via the Navigliaccio and were disembarked in Binasco, from where they continued by cart to the construction site, however, after the restoration of the section navigation between Binasco and Pavia (1473) it was possible to unload the marbles and stones directly at the Certosa. Also in 1473 the work of coating and decoration of the façade of the monastery began, for which the Carthusians decided to use, a unique case in the Lombard area, the Carrara marble, then considered of greater value than that of Candoglia and the cost of which was higher than the other materials available in the Ossola area.
By 1476 the Carthusians formed relations with some families of merchants and quarrymen of Carrara, such as the Maffioli, tenants of the quarries of the Marquis Malaspina. The precious marble, after being embarked in Carrara, circumnavigated Italy and arrived by ship at the mouth of the Po, from where it then went up to Pavia. The traffic of Carrara marble towards the Certosa was so voluminous that the Carthusians themselves came to resell it to other Lombard shipyards and in particular to the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano.
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