Ferrara Charterhouse (Italian : Certosa di Ferrara), of which the present Church of San Cristoforo alla Certosa was previously the monastic church, is a former charterhouse or Carthusian monastery built in Renaissance style, located on Piazza Borso 50 in Ferrara, Region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The monastery was suppressed in the time of Napoleon, but the church was reconsecrated in 1813 and remains in use. The site also accommodates a large municipal cemetery, which was established in 1813.
In 1452, the Duke Borso d'Este sponsored the construction of a charterhouse (Italian : certosa) in Ferrara. As was the usual Carthusian practice, it was built outside the existing city walls, but ten years later new walls, the Addizione Erculea, brought it back within the city.
The present church, dedicated to Saint Christopher (San Cristoforo), was built in 1498, next to the original monastic church. The layout is that of a Latin cross with six lateral chapels. The project is attributed to Biagio Rossetti. The west front, which remains incomplete, was decorated in 1769 with a marble portal to the design of Gaetano Barbieri sculpted by Pietro Puttini, with angels by Francesco Zoppi. [1] The side altars were decorated by Nicolò Roselli, and contained an altarpiece (1570) by Bastianino.
In the late 1700s, after the Napoleonic suppression, the monastery and church were closed and became the property of the city. The church was reconsecrated in 1813. [2] The adjacent grounds, like those of Bologna Charterhouse, were converted for use as a municipal public cemetery (Cimitero Cittadino) by the architect Ferdinando Canonici, at which point the older church and part of the cloister were demolished. The grounds also contain a Jewish cemetery and a memorial statue to Leopoldo Cicognara by Antonio Canova. [3]
Aerial bombing in 1944, during the Second World War, damaged the apse, choir, bell tower and south side of the church. The restorations were still incomplete, when the 2012 earthquake further damaged the foundations, limiting its use. [4]
The Napoleonic suppression of the monastery led to the dispersal of the works of movable art in the church and monastery. An inventory in 1770 lists the following:
The twelve chapels had canvases depicting the Passion of Christ by Roselli. The altar on the right of the crossing had a canvas with The Last Judgement with Sibyls by Sebastiano Filippi. This side of the crossing also had a St Jerome, copy of a work by Agostino Caracci for the Certosa of Bologna, copied by Francesco Naselli; a Blessed Niccolo Albergati, by an unknown Carthusian monk painter; and a St Bruno at Prayer in Squillace met by Roger I of Sicily by Ippolito Scarsellino. In the arches of the main chapel were two canvases depicting Carthusian Beati Stefano Macconi and Pietro Petroni (Blessed Monks) by Bononi. [5]
The main altar tabernacle had paintings by Agostino Caracci. On the Baldacchino was a canvas by Francesco Ferrari. To the statuary of the main altar were works contributed by Pierro Turchi. The lateral canvases depicted the Virgin pleads with San Bruno and colleagues to return to the Hermitage and San Bruno before Roger I of Sicily by Giuseppe Avanzi. In the center, in the facade of the partition that separates the monk's choir, was a depiction of St Christopher by Sebastiano Filippi. Fillipi also painted a canvas next to the presbytery, depicting the Ascension of Christ. In the counter-facade were two holy bishops by Maurelio Scanavini. [6]
The oratory next to the Presbytery had a St Bruno and fellow monks at Prayer and the Refectory had a Marriage at Cana (1622) by Bononi. The Prior's chapel had a Madonna and Child and St Bruno by the school of Guercino.
Other works in the monastery included paintings by the following:
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians, are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called the Statutes, and their life combines both eremitical and cenobitic monasticism. The motto of the Carthusians is Stat crux dum volvitur orbis, Latin for "The Cross is steady while the world turns." The Carthusians retain a unique form of liturgy known as the Carthusian Rite.
Carlo Bononi was an Italian painter.
The School of Ferrara was a group of painters which flourished in the Duchy of Ferrara during the Renaissance. Ferrara was ruled by the Este family, well known for its patronage of the arts. Patronage was extended with the ascent of Ercole d'Este I in 1470, and the family continued in power till Alfonso II, Ercole's great-grandson, died without an heir in 1597. The duchy was then occupied in succession by Papal and Austrian forces. The school evolved styles of painting that appeared to blend influences from Mantua, Venice, Lombardy, Bologna, and Florence.
The Certosa di Pavia is a monastery and complex in Lombardy, Northern Italy, situated near a small town of the same name in the Province of Pavia, 8 km (5.0 mi) north of Pavia. Built in 1396–1495, it was once located on the border of a large hunting park belonging to the Visconti family of Milan, of which today only scattered parts remain. It is one of the largest monasteries in Italy.
Padula is a comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It is the home of the Carthusian monastery Certosa di San Lorenzo, sometimes referred to as the Certosa di Padula. As of 2011 its population was of 5,279.
Sebastiano Filippi was an Italian late Renaissance – Mannerist painter of the School of Ferrara.
Certosa di San Giacomo was a Carthusian monastery, founded in 1363 by Giacomo Arcucci on the island of Capri, Campania, southern Italy. It is now a museum and is used for cultural events. The buildings that formed the charterhouse have three main areas: the pharmacy and women's church, the buildings for monks, and those for guests. The cloister is of a late Renaissance design, while the Chiostro Piccolo features Roman marble columns.
The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Brescia is located on at the west end of Via Elia Capriolo, where it intersects with the Via delle Grazie. Built in the 16th century and remodeled in the 17th century, it still retains much of its artwork by major regional artists, including one of its three canvases by Moretto. The other two are now held at the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo. The interior is richly decorated in Baroque fashion. Adjacent to the church is the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie, a neo-gothic work.
The Church of San Paolo in Ferrara is located on corso Porta Reno 60, a few blocks south of the Ferrara Cathedral, facing piazzetta Alberto Schiatti. It is considered the pantheon for famous citizens of the city.
The Carthusian martyrs are those members of the Carthusian monastic order who have been persecuted and killed because of their Christian faith and their adherence to the Catholic religion. As an enclosed order the Carthusians do not, on principle, put forward causes for their members, though causes have been promoted by others on their behalf.
The Church of the Theatines (Teatini), also known as Santa Maria della Pietà is a Roman Catholic, Baroque-style church and monastery located on Corso della Giovecca, in central Ferrara, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
San Francesco is a Roman Catholic church and monastery located in Sarzana, region of Liguria, Italy.
Trisulti Charterhouse is a former Carthusian monastery or charterhouse, now owned by the Cistercians, in Collepardo, province of Frosinone, central Italy. It is located on the slopes of Monte Rotonaria, a peak of the Monti Ernici, at 825 meters above sea level. It was consecrated in 1211, becoming a national monument in 1873.
Farneta Charterhouse, in Italian Certosa di Farneta is a Carthusian monastery (charterhouse) just north of Lucca, region of Tuscany, Italy.
San Francesco is a late-Renaissance, Roman Catholic minor basilica church located on via Terranuova in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
The Certosa di Pontignano, also known as the Certosa di San Pietro, is a Carthusian monastery and church in the neighborhood of Pontignano, within the town limits of Castelnuovo Berardenga, a few kilometers north of the city of Siena, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. The monastic complex, after the expulsion of the monks in 1810, passed through various hands, until it was acquired in 1959 by the University of Siena, and used for academic meetings, conventions, and also hotel and restaurant for events such as weddings and celebrations.
San Torpé is a Roman Catholic church located in Largo del Parlascio #20 in the town of Pisa, region of Tuscany, Italy.
A charterhouse is a monastery of Carthusian monks. The English word is derived by phono-semantic matching from the French word chartreuse and it is therefore sometimes misunderstood to indicate that the houses were created by charter, a grant of legal rights by a high authority.
The Pinacotecta Nazionale is an art gallery in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is located on the piano nobile of the Palazzo dei Diamanti, a work of Renaissance architecture by Biagio Rossetti, commissioned by Leonello d’Este in 1447. Not to be confused with the Civic Museum on the lower floor, which has hosted temporary exhibitions of contemporary art since 1992, the Pinacoteca houses a collection of paintings by the Ferrarese School dating from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries. It was founded in 1836 by the Municipality of Ferrara after Napoleon's widespread dissolution of churches threatened the protection of important public artworks. The gallery is formed as much around notable northern Italian painters as it is around the exquisite interior decoration of the palace itself, together with remnants of frescoes from local churches and later acquisitions from the Sacrati Strozzi collection.
| Authority control: International |
|---|
