A Journey to the Mystic Monasteries of Italy (Part I)
The Christian World, almost
ready to commemorate another year since Jesus Christ established the first
roots of his church, has much to say about the inheritance—rich not only of the
Bible words, but also of the culture, and the arts that preceded this religious
history.
In Italy, great monasteries
have witnessed the importance of cultural influences in the growth of the
church. From Mont Blanc, far in the north, to the Sicily Island, the list of these monumental
historic buildings might be endless, but here we will mention the most
remarkable ones.
The Charterhouse of Pavia
(Certosa di Pavia) is a monastery complex in Lombardy, northern Italy, situated
8 km 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. The Certosa is renowned for the exuberance
of its architecture, in both Gothic and Renaissance styles, and for its
collection of artworks which are particularly representative of the region. The
church is built on a Latin cross plan with a nave, two aisles and transept,
typical of Gothic architecture. The chancel terminates with an apse. It is
covered by crossed vaults on Gothic arches and is inspired, on a reduced scale,
by the Duomo of Milan. The vaults are alternatively decorated with geometrical
shapes and starry skies. The transept and the main chapel end with square-plan
chapels with smaller, semi-circular apses on three sides.
The Certosa has
painted masterpieces by Bergognone including the panels of St. Ambrose and San
Siro and, most significantly, the Crucifixion. Other paintings in the church
include a Holy Father and panels by Perugino, Morazzone, Guercino, Francesco
Cairo and Daniele Crespi.
The Basilica of Saint Anthony
of Padua (Sant'Antonio da Padova) is the largest church in Padua. Construction
of the Basilica probably began around 1235, nineteen years after the death of
St. Anthony. It was completed in 1301 although several structural
modifications took place between the end of the 14th and the mid 15th
century. The Saint, according to his will, had been buried in the small church of Santa Maria Mater Domini, probably dating from the late
12th century and near which a convent was founded by him in 1229. This church
was incorporated into the present basilica as the Cappella Della Madonna Mora
(Chapel of the Dark Madonna). Saint Anthony is a giant edifice without a
precise architectural style. Over the centuries, it has grown under a variety
of different influences as shown by the exterior details. The new basilica was
begun as a single-naved church, with an apsidal chancel, broad transepts and
two square nave bays roofed with hemispherical domes.
The style was Romanesque.
Later in the 13th century, the aisles were added in a more Gothic style, the
length of each nave bay being divided into two aisle bays with arches and
vaults. The interior of the church contains numerous funerary monuments, some
of noteworthy artistic value. The Chapel of the Holy Sacrament (Cappella del
Santissimo Sacramento) with its broad bands of polychrome and carved Gothic
details has had many stages of decoration.
The Basilica of St Mary of
Salvation (Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute), commonly known simply as the
Salute, is a famous church in Venice, placed scenically at a narrow finger of
land which lies between the Grand Canal and the Bacino di San Marco on the
lagoon. The Salute is a vast, octagonal building built on a platform made of
100,000 wooden piles. The interior has its architectural elements demarcated by
the coloration of the material, and the central nave with its ring of saints
atop a balustrade is a novel design. It is full of Marian symbolism: the great
dome represents her crown, the cavernous interior her womb, the eight sides the
eight points on her symbolic star.
The dome of the Salute was an important
addition to the Venice skyline, and became emblematic of the city, just as the
domes of the Cathedral in Florence and St. Peter's in Rome were for their
respective cities. The Baroque high altar arrangement shelters an iconic
Byzantine Madonna and Child of the 12th or 13th century. The most represented
artist included in the church is Titian, who painted St Mark enthroned with
saints Cosmas, Damian, Sebastian and Roch, the altarpiece of the sacristy, as
well as ceiling paintings of David and Goliath, Abraham and Isaac and Cain and
Abel.
The Charterhouse of Florence (Certosa di Firenze o Certosa del Galluzzo) is situated on a hillside just
south of Florence. Niccolò Acciaiuoli, one of the most powerful Florence
citizens of 14th century, built it in 1341 not only as a religious centre but
also for the education of the young. The Church of Saint Lawrence is Mannerist
in architectural style and filled with frescoes and pictures, a sumptuous
marble altar of the 16th century and a crypt containing many tombs. It gives
access to the beautiful Renaissance cloister with its large terracotta well by
Andrea and Giovanni Della Robbia. The monks' cells open onto this cloister, and
those which are open to the public give an idea of Carthusian monastic life.
Each consists of a room for sleeping and a room for praying.
Their furnishings
are severe but each has a tiny enclosed garden which was cultivated
individually by the inhabitant. In addition to the large cloister, the small
cloister of Conversi (Chiostro dei Conversi) is open to the public. This gives
access to the refectory which is decorated with a pulpit from which lessons were
read during meals. In 1957, a small group of Cistercian friars replaced the
Carthusian monks as the inhabitants of the Certosa. They are largely
self-supporting and maintain their old traditions such as the distillation of
herb liqueurs and the manufacture of small handmade religious articles.
Vallombrosa is a Benedictine
abbey in the commune of Reggello (Tuscany), 30 km south-east of Florence. It
was founded by Giovanni Gualberto, a Florentine noble, in 1038. It was extended
around 1450, reaching its current aspect at the end of the 15th century. Soon,
the Vallombrosa abbey began benefiting from bequests and donations enriching
its patrimony remarkably and rapidly developed into an authentic rural
seignior.
Even if Florence annexed the monastery in 1280, it kept its autonomy and its own statute. In the XIII century, the abbot of Vallombrosa also became the Count of Magnale with the task to nominate his vicar to administer justice within the jurisdiction of the monastery.
Even if Florence annexed the monastery in 1280, it kept its autonomy and its own statute. In the XIII century, the abbot of Vallombrosa also became the Count of Magnale with the task to nominate his vicar to administer justice within the jurisdiction of the monastery.
By 1377, the properties of the
Vallombrosani included more than sixty holdings, plots of ground and a real
community. More than 120 people had developed inside the convent. The monastery
has its own business life based on timber trade and livestock farming. In the
XVI century, the rich and powerful convent of Vallombrosa caught the attention
of the Spanish troops during their presence in Tuscany. In the second half of
the XVI century, the abbey started to thrive again and it was also restored.
The congregation of the Vallombrosiani was suppressed in the Napoleonic age,
when the French emperor initiated his fight against the religious brotherhoods,
but it recuperated its properties in 1818. Later on, after the Unity of Italy,
a second abolition of all the orders was settled. In 1866, the friars were
obliged to abandon the complex again. They returned here in 1949, only, and
took back the forest area that had thriven thanks to a huge forestation works
since 1963. Today, the monastery is open for tourists and is selling local
produce.
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