«It is impossible to describe how much I was impressed
by the perfection of our holy monastery, that is why this place raises my
spirits when they are at their lowest ebb»; thus Niccolò Acciaiuoli,
the Florentine banker, wrote to his friend Boccaccio to tell him about the
loving care he was spending on the construction of the Certosa or Carthusian
Monastery of Florence, completely financed by him and under construction since
1342.
Certainly
this man, who was so rich that he was even able to lend money to the court
of Kingdom of Naples, did not donate part of his income towards the foundation
of a new monastery out of a personal need for a place of spiritual retirement;
he expected to get much more out of his new investment: fame on earth and
an assured future in the Kingdom of Heaven. This was why he already made mention
of the future monastery in the first will that he drew up when he was only
twenty eight years old; six years later, the first stones were laid on the
summit of Monte Acuto, an ideal site because its position on such a prominent
hill south of Florence was a certain guarantee of the security and importance
of the new Certosa. There is little doubt that it was a good choice for its
walls dominate the entire Ema Valley even today and can easily be seen from
both the main Cassia road and the A1 Motorway. The monastery can be reached
by car from Florence by taking Via Senese from Piazzale di Porta Romana as
far as Galluzzo, passing through about three kilometres of hills covered in
olive groves and dotted with lovely villas; from here a short avenue climbs
up to the Certosa. The first building of the monastic complex that we encounter
is Palazzo Acciaiuoli, a compact palace that the generous founder built for
himself in order to enjoy the peace of the monastery; unfortunately he was
never able to see his wish fulfilled because only the first floor had been
built at the time of his death in 1365; in fact the palace was only completed
and attached to the rest of the Certosa in the mid 16th century. The 14th
century part of the building is now occupied by the Vieusseux library laboratories
for book restoration, while the lower level contains the picture gallery,
where we start out on our tour.
The remnants of the artistic patrimony of the Certosa are on display here
and, in spite of the fact that many exhibits have been "removed" over the
centuries, it still contains a large number of very interesting works of art
to document the Florentine artistic production between the second half of
the 14th century and the 18th century (of note paintings by Jacopo del Casentino,
Raffaellino del Garbo, Cigoli, Sebastiano Ricci). Special mention is due to
the extraordinary frescoes that Pontormo
carried out for the cloisters in 1523-25, when the genius of the Tuscan Mannerist
school stayed at the Certosa to avoid the plague that was running rife in
Florence; today we find that the dramatic atmosphere that so annoyed Vasari
is one of the most fascinating things about the five Stories of the Passion
of Christ, now in the picture gallery for restoration. Unlike Palazzo Acciaiuoli
the monastery was completed in just a few years and consacrated in 1395, though
it has a somewhat composite aspect today thanks to the numerous alterations
and enlargements that continued up until the end of 17th century. The Certosa
is basically a late Renaissance group of buildings, characteristic for their
measured classicism, which we immediately notice when we come out of the picture
gallery and turn right into the main courtyard, carried out in the mid 16th
century to link the palace up with the Church of San Lorenzo, now right in
front of us. The church is divided into two longitudinally placed and separate
areas: the first was for the "lay brothers", who carried out various practical
duties for the monks, while the second, nearest the altar, was reserved for
the cloistered monks. The first part of the church and the facade were built
at the same time as the courtyard, while the "church of the monks" still maintains
its ancient Gothic structure of a single room, roofed over with cross vaults;
the interior was however completely renewed in the 16th century, enriched
with the marble altar, the new chancel, decorated with wooden inlays, and
the frescoes by Bernardino Poccetti. This co-existence of mediaeval structures
with later interventions characterises the whole of the monastery, starting
with the corridor on the left of the church where, once a week, the monks
were allowed to gather together and interrupt their vows of silence. At the
end of the corridor, where we can see a fine Christ carrying the Cross by
Andrea della Robbia, we can find
the elegant little cloister that acts as a fulcrum for the entire complex:
from here a door, decorated with a St. Laurence between two angels in terracotta
by Benedetto da Maiano, takes us through to the refectory, the main cloister
and the Chapter House, where the monks used to meet to discuss any problems
that touched the little community.
It is a small room with a fine fresco of the Crucifixion by Mariotto Albertinelli
(1506) and the funerary monument of Leonardo Buonafé by Francesco da
Sangallo (1550), who also carried out the polychrome marble flooring. From
here we pass behind the church to the huge open area of the main Cloister
of the monks: the 18 cells in which the Carthusian monks spent most of their
lives, coming out only for Masses and meals on feast days, are lined up around
the sides, elegantly divided by arches dating from the early 16th century.
The luminosity and extremely elegant decorations (the beautifully carved capitals,
the busts in terracotta by Giovanni
Della Robbia and the frescoes above the doors of the cells), which once
also included the frescoes by Pontormo, make this cloister an extremely fascinating
place; it is a beauty that should be enjoyed in absolute silence. From here
we return to the courtyard and to the great flight of stairs that we took
previously to climb up to the picture gallery; our historical and artistic
tour is now over but we can still stop off in the forecourt at the entrance
to admire the splendid view, or pop into the monastery pharmacy to try a glass
of the herbal liqueur concocted by the monks and perhaps buy a bottle of their
"best". Protected by its splendid isolation, the Certosa has managed to preserve
its extraordinary beauty over six centuries of the unchangeable rhythm of
the cloister; the Carthusian monks were replaced in 1957 by the Cistercian
friars who have guaranteed the monastery's regular opening to the public ever
since: its treasures can now be admired by everyone, though we must never
forget that we are also responsibile for their conservation.
The Certosa can be reached by bus 37 that leaves from the Station
of Santa Maria Novella; the monks organize guided visits from Tuesday to Sunday
from 9am-12pm and from 3-6pm. For further information tel. 055.2049226.
