Church of the Certosa di Pavia.
Although the name Certosa di Pavia suggests that this imposing monastic complex is located in Pavia, this is certainly not the case. The distance between the castle of Pavia and the monastery is, in a straight line to the north, at least seven kilometres. Definitely too far to walk, so we decided to drive there by car. We left our car on the paid car park just west of the complex and proceeded on foot. Visitors should realise that the only place where they can wander around freely is the museum. Those who want to see other parts of the Certosa have to join a guided tour. Joining a tour is really simple: enter the church, walk down the nave towards the gate in the transept and wait there until a group of interested visitors has formed and is picked up by a monk. The guided tour is free, but a donation is expected, and our experience was that people donate generously. A minor inconvenience for those who do not speak Italian is that there do not seem to be any guided tours in languages other than Italian. Taking photos inside the church is prohibited, but outside in the two large cloisters and in the museum it should not be a problem.
History
In 1359 the Milanese Visconti family took control of Pavia. It was Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan since 1385 and Duke from 1395 until his death in 1402, who issued the orders to build the monastery. The project stemmed from a vow that his wife (and niece) Caterina Visconti (ca. 1362-1404) had once made. She had sworn that she would have a monastery built, dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy (Santa Maria delle Grazie), if she were to survive a horrendous pregnancy. When she did, Gian Galeazzo and Caterina kept their word. The church of the monastery was to become a mausoleum for the Visconti family, while the monastery itself was to be inhabited and administered by Carthusians from Siena, members of an order that was known as strict, sober, contemplative and ascetic. All of these adjectives are rather hard to believe if one takes into account the extravagance and beautiful colours of the Certosa di Pavia. The theory that Gian Galeazzo and Caterina were inspired by the Carthusian monastery of Champmol in France, of which the construction had started in 1383 on the orders of the Burgundian duke Philip the Bold, sounds very plausible.
The complex in the middle of the rice fields.
Gian Galeazzo Visconti lays the foundation stone (replica of a relief on the façade).
The monastic complex arose on the north side of the Parco Visconteo, a large park that the family used for hunting and other types of entertainment. The foundation stone was laid on 27 August 1396 and little more than one hundred years later, on 3 May 1497, the Certosa di Pavia was consecrated. However, this does not mean that all building activities had been finished by then. On the contrary, work on the façade of the church for instance continued until well into the sixteenth century. Given the long duration of the construction, it is not surprising that many architects were involved in the project. What is remarkable is that many of them were simultaneously working on the Duomo of Milan, of which the rebuilding had commenced in 1386. The first phase of construction ended with Gian Galeazzo’s death in 1402. Among the participating architects were Bernardo da Venezia, Giacomo da Campione, Cristoforo da Conigo, Giovannino de’ Grassi (1350-1398) and Marco Solari (ca. 1355-1405). Work was resumed in 1412, when Filippo Maria Visconti became Duke of Milan. As of 1428 the Certosa di Pavia was not just a project of the Visconti family, but also of the Solari family, who were from Ticino in present-day Switzerland. In that year Marco Solari’s son Giovanni Solari (1400-1482) was appointed lead architect, an office he would hold until 1462, when he was succeeded by his son Guiniforte Solari (ca. 1429-1481). Guiniforte’s son, Pietro Antonio Solari (ca. 1445-1493), participated in the project as a sculptor.
After Guiniforte Solari’s death the project was entrusted to the architects Giovanni Antonio Amadeo (ca. 1447-1522) and Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono (ca. 1445-1510). They made sufficient progress for the complex to be consecrated in 1497. Work on the façade then continued for several more decades. Apart from Amadeo himself there was participation from, among others, Cristoforo Mantegazza (ca. 1429-1479 or 1482) and Benedetto Briosco (ca. 1460-1517). The lower part of the façade was completed in 1507, while for the upper part the architect Cristoforo Lombardo (died 1555) was hired. Visitors might wonder why the façade appears to be so flat. The simple reason is that it was actually never completed. The plan was to add some kind of triangular pediment to top it, but apparently the Carthusians thought it looked fine as it was. The Carthusian monks remained at the complex until 1782, when they were evicted. As with so many other buildings in Italy the Certosa di Pavia was pillaged by French troops during the Napoleonic era. The Carthusians returned to the complex in 1843 and stayed until 1879. By now the Certosa di Pavia had become state property, and in 1912 a large restoration was ordered by the authorities and led by Luca Beltrami (1854-1933).
Portal of the façade.
In 1930 Carthusians were once again admitted to the monastery. This time they were to stay until 1947. The previous year the complex had become involved in a scandal regarding the body of Benito Mussolini. Il Duce had been executed by partisans on 28 April 1945, after which he had been buried in an unmarked grave in Milan. Almost a year later the body was exhumed and stolen by young fascists. For weeks the body was moved from place to place, and in August of 1946 it was discovered in the Certosa di Pavia. This embarrassing event no doubt sped up the departure of the Carthusians. In 1968 the monastery was granted to Cistercians, and they are still there. One of their duties is giving guided tours to visitors. The Cistercian monk who was our guide pleasantly surprised us with his enthusiasm and humour. Among other things, he explained to his audience how the coat of arms of the Visconti – which contains a snake – became part of the logo of Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo.
Detail of the façade.
Highlights in the church
The Certosa di Pavia is a mix of Gothic and Renaissance elements. Although, as was mentioned above, the top part is missing, the façade of the church is still beautiful because of its colours, many statues and detailed reliefs. There is just one entrance, which is surrounded by an ornate portal from 1501 with sculptural work by Benedetto Briosco. In the lunette we see the Madonna and Child flanked by kneeling monks.
Sculptures by Benedetto Briosco.
Among the highlights of the interior are the frescoes by Ambrogio Bergognone (died ca. 1524) in the transept. On the right he painted, towards the end of the fifteenth century, how Gian Galeazzo Visconti offers the church of the Certosa to the Madonna and Child. The kneeling man behind him is his son Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan between 1412 and 1447. The kneeling men on the other side have been identified as Galeazzo Maria Sforza (Duke between 1466 and 1476) and his son and successor Gian Galeazzo Sforza (Duke between 1476 and 1494). The fresco corresponds with that in the left transept, which features the Coronation of the Virgin with Francesco Sforza (Duke between 1450 and 1466) and Ludovico il Moro (Duke between 1494 and 1499) attending. The two frescoes jointly symbolise the transition of power from the Visconti dynasty to that of the Sforzas.
In 1447 Filippo Maria Visconti died, the last male member of the House of Visconti. After his death, the citizens of Milan declared the Ambrosian Republic, which was to be short-lived. Filippo Maria had a daughter, Bianca Maria (1425-1468), who was married to the powerful mercenary captain (condottiero) Francesco Sforza (1401-1466). Sforza – from Italian sforzare, ‘to force’ – was a skilful politician and soldier and over the course of three years managed to subjugate and disband the Republic, claiming the title of Duke of Milan for himself. Francesco’s second son Ludovico Sforza, nicknamed Il Moro because of his dark skin, would probably never have become duke had not his elder brother Galeazzo Maria been murdered in 1476. As of 1480 he acted as a regent for his nephew Gian Galeazzo, still a minor at the time. Gian Galeazzo passed away in 1494 at the tender age of 25, and rumour had it that Ludovico was behind his death. Already the de facto ruler of the Duchy of Milan during his regency, Ludovico was now formally allowed to call himself duke. He was an important patron of the arts, but his foreign policy was not very successful. In 1499 he was driven from Milan by the French king Louis XII.
Relief of the funerary monument of Gian Galeazzo Visconti (replica).
In the church we find the funerary monument of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, a work by Giovanni Cristoforo Romano (1456-1512) and Benedetto Briosco (ca. 1460-1517). The two artists were not yet born when the founder of the Certosa di Pavia died in 1402. Ludovico Sforza (who died in 1508 while in French captivity) and his wife Beatrice d’Este (1475-1497) were also provided with a funerary monument in the church, although it had originally been intended for the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The beautiful effigies of the deceased were made by Cristoforo Solari (ca. 1460-1527), nicknamed Il Gobbo, the hunchback. He too was a member of the Solari family, just like his brother Andrea (died 1524), who was active as a painter in the sacristy of the church (which was regretfully not included in our tour). One of the most famous paintings in the building is, lastly, an altarpiece by Pietro Perugino (ca. 1446-1523). Perugino painted his Polittico della Certosa di Pavia on the orders of Ludovico Sforza. Unfortunately, only the upper part of the work (featuring God the Father) is original. The three other panels have been in the National Gallery in London since 1856.
Cloisters and museum
In the small cloister – Chiostro Piccolo or Chiostro della Preghiera – it is especially the terracotta decorations that catch the eye. These are the work of the fifteenth-century sculptor Rinaldo de Stauris from Cremona. On the washbasin used by the monks we see, among other things, an Annunciation and the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. South of the small cloister there is the large cloister or Chiostro Grande. It is very large indeed, with each side measuring about 124 metres. Here we find the 24 cells or houses in which the monks live. Every house has a little tower that makes it look like a tiny church. Although the friars certainly do not bathe in luxury, life in the Certosa di Pavia does not seem to be unpleasant. The abbot has a slightly larger house, so his life is even more comfortable.
The museum of the Certosa owes its existence to the aforementioned Luca Beltrami. It opened its doors in 1911, only to close again the next year. It was not until 2008 (!) that it was reopened to the public. The museum consists of two long galleries in the Palazzo Ducale, the summer residence of the dukes on the complex. The gallery on the ground floor is the Gipsoteca. Here we find several plaster casts of the reliefs of the façade and the cloisters. The casts were made in the nineteenth century by two Milanese, Pietro and Edoardo Pierotti. Thanks to the casts we were able to get up close and personal with the famous scene of Gian Galeazzo Visconti – immediately recognisable because of his facial hair – laying the foundation stone of the complex (see the image above). Pietro and Edoardo Pierotti also made a cast of the funerary monument of the Duke. We were not allowed to take pictures of the original monument (which is, after all, in the church), but taking photos of the copy was not a problem. See the image above. The museum also has a replica of the funerary monument of Ludovico Sforza and Beatrice d’Este.
Obviously the museum has more than just a collection of copies. On the first floor we find the original paintings and sculptures. Among the highlights are counted – with ample justification – panel paintings by Ambrogio Bergognone and Bernardino Luini (ca. 1480-1532), and an altarpiece by Bartolomeo Montagna (ca. 1449-1523) from Vicenza. We may furthermore admire works of the aforementioned sculptors Cristoforo Mantegazza and Cristoforo Solari. Lastly, we definitely enjoyed the remaining parts of a marble polyptych made by an unknown sculptor from Lombardy. The blue sky of the representation of the Crucifixion from ca. 1475 is an indication that the altarpiece was once (partially) painted.
Saints Peter, Benedictus and Paul – Ambrogio Bergognone.
In the village adjoining the Certosa di Pavia there are several restaurants where visitors can have lunch or dinner. We chose to have lunch at Amare, a restaurant that is basically directly next to the complex. As its name indicates, Amare specialises in seafood. The dishes that the restaurant serves are truly special. Where else will you find tonnarelli cacio e pepe with tuna? The taste of the dish was absolutely phenomenal.
Sources: Capitool travel guide Italy (2014), p. 204-205, Trotter travel guide Northwest Italy (2016), p. 402, folder from the Museo Certosa di Pavia and Certosa di Pavia – Wikipedia.
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