Certosa of Pavia – Pavia

The Certosa was built by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, first Duke of Milan, from 1396 to fulfill the will of his wife Catherine: the Duchess had taken a vow to build a monastery if she survived childbirth together with her children. The church is dedicated to Santa Maria delle Grazie.

Built to the north of the Visconti park of the Castle of Pavia, the family’s hunting residence, it was also to be a testimony to the prestige of the family and a burial place for the descendants.

It was consecrated in 1497 and completed in 1562. During the same year, the remains of the Duke and his first wife Isabella of Valois were transferred to the monument dedicated to them, still visible inside the church.

The Certosa became a propriety of the Italian State in 1866, with the suppression of religious orders as stated by the Kingdom of Italy. In the royal decree of that year it appears among the five national monuments protected by the State.

The access to the Certosa is possible through a richly frescoed Renaissance vestibule; the plan of the church, a Latin cross, is divided into three naves covered by cross vaults on pointed arches supported by bundles of pillars; on the side aisles, numerous chapels preserve precious works of art.

The Museum

At the end of the nineteenth century, it was decided to establish a museum to preserve the works deposited in the various rooms of the monument: the chosen location was the Palazzo Ducale, adjacent to the church, summer residence of Visconti and Sforza, formerly guest quarters for guests and illustrious pilgrims.

The first nucleus was established in 1892 thanks to Carlo Magenta and the architect Luca Beltrami, director of the Regional Office for the Conservation of Monuments in Lombardy, already working on the restoration of the Certosa. Beltrami decided to have a Gipsoteca on the ground floor, paintings and sculptures on the first floor: this structure has remained unchanged until today.

Inaugurated in 1911 and closed the following year, the museum reopened to the public in 2008 after extensive restoration work, and in 2015 it was entrusted to the Lombardy Museums Regional Directorate, office of the Ministry of Culture.