La Certosa di Pavia

00:00 - Drone view from above 02:07 - Exterior of the Certosa 07:00 - Details of the facade 15:43 - The bas-reliefs of the entrance door 18:58 - Interior 30:24 - The small cloister 39:58 - The large cloister The Certosa di Pavia is a historical monumental complex that includes a monastery and a sanctuary. Built at the end of the 14th century by order of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, first Duke of Milan, in fulfillment of the vow of his wife Caterina dated 8 January 1390 and as a sepulchral mausoleum of the Milanese dynasty, it was completed in about 50 years and combines various styles, from late Italian Gothic to Renaissance, and boasts architectural and artistic contributions from various masters of the time, from Bernardo da Venezia, its original designer together with Marco Solari and Giacomo da Campione, to Giovanni Solari and his son Guiniforte, Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, Cristoforo Lombardo and others. Originally entrusted to the Carthusian community, then to the Cistercian community and, for a short period, also to the Benedictine community, after the unification of the Kingdom of Italy, the Certosa was declared a national monument in 1866 and acquired among the properties of the Italian state, as well as all the artistic and ecclesiastical assets contained therein. Access to the monastic complex is through a Renaissance vestibule, frescoed both inside and out. In the faded entrance lunette, two angels hold the coat of arms of the patron Gian Galeazzo, with the Visconti snake and the imperial eagle. The upper decoration, drawn up by Bernardino de Rossi in 1508, is better preserved. The plan of the Certosa has the same layout as the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Pavia and Santa Maria del Carmine in Milan, previous works by the same Bernardo da Venezia. The façade, created by superimposing simple rectangles, is richly decorated, a typical procedure of Lombard Renaissance architecture, and is made mainly of Carrara marble. The portal is a collaborative work between Amadeo and his pupil Benedetto Briosco (1501) and is characterised by twin columns and bas-reliefs with Stories of the Certosa. In the central lunette, two pairs of Carthusians pay homage to the Virgin and Child. The counter-façade was frescoed in 1679 by Giuseppe and Giovanni Battista Procaccini with the Assumption of the Madonna and figures of saints, Sibyls and Angels. In the right part of the transept is the tomb of the founder of the Certosa, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, known as Count of Virtù, the first Duke of Milan, who in his will ordered that his body be buried in the Certosa. In the left part of the transept are the recumbent statues of the Duke of Milan Ludovico il Moro and his wife Beatrice d'Este, the work of the Renaissance sculptor Cristoforo Solari, known as the Gobbo. In the old sacristy is preserved a triptych in ivory and hippopotamus tooth, the work of the Florentine Baldassarre di Simone di Aliotto, belonging to the Embriachi family (Baldassarre degli Embriachi), donated by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, and created in the first decade of the fifteenth century as an altarpiece for the high altar, where it remained until the mid-sixteenth century. A portal, decorated inside with sculptures made by the brothers Cristoforo and Antonio Mantegazza and outside by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, leads from the church to the small cloister in the center of which is a garden. The small cloister was the place where much of the community life of the fathers took place: it connected, with its porticoes, areas such as the church, the chapter house, the library and the refectory. The large cloister, built by the same artists who worked on the small one, measures approximately 125 meters in length and 100 meters in width. Originally there were 23 cells. Structural interventions in 1514 increased the number to 36. Today, 24 cells or houses overlook the large cloister, the monks' homes, each consisting of three rooms and a garden. Source Wikipedia: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certosa... Music by Whitesand Title: The Dark Side Of Me Links: Website - https://whitesandcomposer.com/ Support making these tracks -   / whitesand   Buy My Music - https://whitesand.bandcamp.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3GXun... #pavia #lombardy #lombardia #italy #italia