Padula's Carthusian monastery

Padula's Carthusian monastery. A day trip in Southern Italy, near Neaples.

If you ride the so-called highway Salerno- Reggio Calabria towards Reggio, about 8 km. after Sala Consilina you'll find the exit for Padula. Take it and go on following the directions first for Padula and then for San Lorenzo's Certosa.

If you happen to be there at lunch time stop before Padula Scalo to eat where we ate, at the "Picchio Nero": the place is pleasant, fish is fresh, hosts are kind and the price-quality relation is excellent.

Afterwards, in a few minutes you'll reach the Certosa, which is no more a Monastery since Napoleon's times, when it was deconsacrated. It was recognised as National Heritage in 1882, but then left to downgrade both for lack of maintenance and for the many different improper uses to which it was successively destined (even as war prisoners concentration camp!). But since 1960 a systematic scientific work of restoration is going on, which is today an a very advanced phase, so that a wide portion of the monument is now visitable.

It is one of the biggest European Carthusian monastery, and was founded around 1306 by Tommaso Sanseverino, a mighty nobleman of Angio's party, Count of Marsico and owner of the lands of Vallo of Diano, who gave it to Carthusian monks. In that times monks had a very effective organisation for land reclamation and farming works. During five centuries, as far as 1806, when it was assaulted and plundered by Napoleon's soldiers, the original monastery had continuously been enriched with new architectural parties, statues, gardens, works of art and craftsmanship, an immense number of books and big new portions of land. It was practically a very big firm in which the monks organised in the territory agriculture and all the craftsmanship production, whilst the enclosed monks produced and ordered art and culture.

Similar to that of all the Carthusian monasteries, though particularly huge, the original plant is if the XIV century, to which successive interventions were added: important works in the second half of XVI, with the transformation of the big cloister and substantial development of religious ornaments. In XVIII century more works were done, among which the realisation of the covered promenade and of the huge baroque staircase.

The visit lasts about one hour

Beside the spaces for the cult, rich of splendid sculptured decorations in stucco, marble marqueteries made with pulverised precious marbles and religious ornaments, you'll visit one of the many monks cells, to realise how was their quiet comfortable life of study and meditation, the different cloisters and the huge kitchen with its fireplace as big as a room.

In some of these spaces in the ‘70ies the famous fairy tale film was shot “Once there was...”, with Sophia Loren and Omar Sharif. The barrels now in the monastery cave were made on that occasion.

An other thing you may get curious about is the strange iron machine in the entrance courtyard: it has been built in 1996 with the purpose of cooking and turning upside down a 1000 eggs omelette. As a matter of fact there is a legend according to which in 1534 the emperor Charles V was guest of the Carthusian monks, who in his honour prepared a giant omelette with a thousand eggs. So, since 1996, every year in September, among the events related to the wild boar feast the giant omelette is made to offer to people.

More info and a nice map to get there in:
http://general.general.it/arte/certosa/certosa.html