Nestled in the countryside around Pavia, a few kilometers from the city center, you will find before your eyes one of the greatest Italian masterpieces of the Renaissance: the Certosa di Pavia.
The monastery was built by Gian Galeazzo Visconti as a family chapel, connected to the castle by the Visconti Park. Construction began on 27 August 1396 and it was Gian Galeazzo himself who laid the first stone.
The church was covered by Francesco Sforza in 1462, while the large cloister, consisting of arches in terracotta supported by marble columns, was completed in 1472. The facade of the Certosa is decorated with a series of medallions depicting characters – historical or legendary – of antiquity.
Higher up are scenes from the life of Christ and the Old Testament and figures of Saints and Prophets. Entering the church you will notice the original Gothic structure, inspired by the Cathedral of Milan, its three naves are covered by cross vaults with decorations of starry skies and figures of Saints and Carthusians. The frescoes dedicated to the Sforza and Visconti families are in the left transept.
The Certosa di Pavia opened its museum to the public for the first time in 1911. On the ground floor of the Certosa Museum are about 200 plaster casts of the reliefs of the facade, cloisters and other parts of the monastery. On the first floor are vestments, sculptures, altarpieces, paintings on wood, high marble reliefs and portraits of the Visconti and Sforza families.
