Certosa di Pavia Monastery

-
Day 6 - As we make our way from Milan to the Italian Riviera, we will stop for a visit at the 
Certosa di Pavia Monastery.

As the pilgrims did hundreds of years ago, we also will be watching for the ornately carved facade of Certosa di Pavia as it rises out of the middle of the Italian countryside,
among the rice fields and vineyards.

Enjoy this drone footage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEmSomqJFaU





It is said that this early Gothic and Italian Renaissance masterpiece was born from a vow by Caterina Visconti to the Holy Virgin Mary in which she promised to establish a Carthusian monastery if she were blessed with a male heir. After she died in childbirth, Gian Visconti, first duke of Milan, commissioned the building of the complex on his family's hunting grounds. "Certosa" is the Italian name for "house of the monastic order of Carthusians". The church was the last of the complex to be built and would serve as the Visconti family mausoleum.




In a bit of irony, Carthusians in early centuries were known for plainness of architecture while Certosa di Pavia is renowned for its exuberance of architecture.  Begun in 1396 in Gothic style and completed in 1507 in Renaissance style, every nook and cranny is filled with elaborate detail. 










  The back of the church leads to the Small Cloister, with its garden and arcades, and then on to the Grand Cloister where the monks’ cells open out onto the central garden. The Cistercians who now occupy the Certosa di Pavia are a silent order. They live in individual two story cells around the Great Cloister. Each cell has its own small garden and a hatch by the door which allows food to be delivered to the monks without any need for communication. We will be asked to honor the silence - whisper only while touring.

The Grand Cloisters ca. 1880


The Small Cloisters


For more of the history, beautiful photos, and good information to know before we visit:
https://thesanetravel.com/places/italy/certosa-di-pavia-hidden-gem-near-milan


Photo credits in order:
1. https://flic.kr/p/bBCmtC
2. commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5596550
3. https://flic.kr/p/t6q9D
4. https://flic.kr/p/5ucdGM
5. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44820030
6.  https://flic.kr/p/4NPNMY

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Venice -Grand Canal - Bridges & Grand Canal Video

-
Image
Day 9 & 10 - Grand Canal Cruise The Grand Canal "The Most Beautiful Street in the World" The Grand Canal is Venice's pride and joy.  This ancient waterway follows a natural channel that winds its way through the city in a large reverse S shape, traveling from the San Marco Basin on one end to a lagoon near the rail station on the other.  It is roughly 16 feet deep, 2.36 miles long, and ranges from 100-300 feet wide.  At various points, the Grand Canal connects with a maze of much smaller and more narrow water channels that snake through the city, connecting the more than 120 little islands. The blue line traces the Grand Canal.  All of the other dark lines represent the lesser waterways that define the 120 little islands which are connected by all types of bridges. All of these waterways are the lifeline of Venetian life.  Everything that is done by motor vehicles in most cities must be done by watercraft in Venice.  There are specific boa
Read more

Florence - Ponte Vecchio & Fontana del Porcellina

-
Image
Day 11, 12 & 13 - Explore Florence Ponte Vecchio - Old Bridge "Dante was standing near the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge that crosses the Arno River in Florence.  It was just before 1300.  Dante saw Beatrice standing on the bridge. He was a young man, she even younger, and that vision contained the whole of eternity for him.  Dante did not speak to her and saw her very little. And then Beatrice died, carried off by plague.  Dante was stricken with the loss of his vision.  She was the connection between his soul and Heaven itself, and from it the Divine Comedy was born. Six hundred fifty years later, during World War II, the Americans were chasing the German army up the Italian Peninsula.  The Germans were blowing up everything that aided the progression of the American army, including the bridges across the Arno River.  But no one would blow up the Ponte Vecchio because Beatrice had stood on it and Dante had written about her.  So the German commandant made radio contact wi
Read more

The Villas of Lake Como

-
Image
The Villas of Lake Como  Day 3 -  This day our optional excursion is the Lake Como Cruise & Bellagio . As we make our way to Bellagio we will pass by some of Lake Como’s most famous villas, and as we do, inquiring minds will want to know - when was it built, who lived there, what is its history?   Below are some of the villas and a little bit about them. We will be cruising "up the striding man's leg"  from Como to Bellagio.  The most lavish villas  were built on the western shore to get the  most sunshine and to have wonderful  views of the mountains across the lake. Villa Olmo is in the city of Como.  Built in classic Italian style as a summer retreat for a family of nobility, it is considered the most lavish villa.  Napoleon Bonaparte was a guest.  Today it is Como's beautiful event center. Villa d'Este was once the home of a cardinal of Como and the residence of the estranged wife of Ki
Read more