La Charterhouse of St. Lawrence: Certosa di Padula, is an extraordinary religious building protected by Unesco. It is the first charterhouse to have been built in Campania, even before that of San Martino (Naples) and San Giacomo (Capri). And it is, with its 51.500 square meters, the largest charterhouse in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. Beyond the size, it is truly a unique place.
Certosa di San Lorenzo, the history
Construction of the Certosa di San Lorenzo began in 1306 for want of Thomas II Sanseverino, but it was King Charles II known as "the Lame" who confirmed the work. Count of Marsico and lord of the Vallo di Diano, Sanseverino donated the complex to the Carthusian religious order. His focus wasn't very religious, actually. Wanting to ingratiate himself with the Angevin royals of the Kingdom of Naples, he decided to build a monumental complex on some of his fiefs in Padula, in the province of Salerno. The fertile lands of the surroundings were well suited to agriculture, so much so that the monks immediately began to produce wine and oil and grow fruit and vegetables, for themselves but also to sell them. After the fall of the Sanseverinos, i Carthusians of Padula inherited the property. And for the Certosa di San Lorenzo a flourishing period began which lasted from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. It is said that even Charles V, returning from the battle of Tunis, stopped here in 1535. For him and his army the monks prepared a omelette with a thousand eggs, gone down in history.
Beginning in 1583, the Certosa di San Lorenzo underwent profound changes. The baroque aspect that the visitor admires today is the result of the eighteenth-century interventions, as are its extensions: the cloister, the refector, the elliptical staircase that draws the back. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, however, the Carthusian order was suppressed. The monks were forced to leave the Charterhouse, many works of art were stolen. Until the end of the Napoleonic domination and the reign of the Bourbons was restored, the monks were able to return. Although, the damage done, forever ruined the prestige of the Certosa.
The Charterhouse today
Today the Certosa di San Lorenzo is a place of incredible beauty. Many directors have chosen it as set of their films, from “Once upon a time” with Sophia Loren and Omar Sharif to “Cavalli si born” with David Riondino. Inspired like all charterhouses by the shape of the grill on which San Lorenzo burned alive, it is waiting to be discovered. The visitor enters from the eastern side, and finds himself in front of splendid environments: the Cloister of the Foresteria with Baroque paintings, the church with its chapels, the Cloister of the Cemetery, the refectory.
All around the monastery are the gardens, col desertum once used by cloistered monks and the prior during their outings. Built during the eighteenth-century expansion, it once housed orchards and vineyards. Today it is the perfect place to stroll, after a visit to the rooms of the Certosa.
Featured photo taken from Wikipedia (credit Velvet - CC BY-SA 3.0)
