TheCertosa di Pavia is amonastery complex inLombardy,Northern Italy, situated neara small village of the same name in theProvince of Pavia, 8 km (5.0 mi) north ofPavia. Built from 1396 to 1495, it was once located at the end of theVisconti Park a large hunting park and pleasure ground belonging to theVisconti dukes ofMilan, of which today only scattered parts remain. It is one of the largest monasteries in Italy.

Certosa di Pavia
Façade.
Religion
Affiliation	Catholic
Province	Pavia
Year consecrated	1497
Status	Active
Location
Location	Certosa di Pavia, Italy
Architecture
Type	Church
Style	Gothic,Renaissance,Mannerism,Baroque

Certosa is the Italian translation ofCharterhouse: a monastery of the cloistered monastic order ofCarthusians founded bySt. Bruno in 1044 atGrande Chartreuse. Though the Carthusians in their early centuries were known for their seclusion and asceticism and the plainness of their architecture, the Certosa is renowned for the exuberance of its architecture, in both the Gothic and Renaissance styles, and for its collection of artworks which are particularly representative of the region.

Gian Galeazzo Visconti, hereditary lord and firstDuke of Milan, commissioned the building of the Certosa from the architectMarco Solari, laying the foundation stone on 27 August 1396, as recorded by a bas-relief on the facade. The location was strategically chosen midway between Milan and Pavia, the second city of the Duchy, where the Duke held one of his courts, at the end of the Visconti Park, which connected the Certosa to thecastle of Pavia.^[1]

The Certosa is also the result of the political aspirations of Gian Galeazzo. In a coup in 1385, Gian Galeazzo had deposed his uncleBernabò Visconti, replacing him as lord of the former Visconti domains including Milan. However, like his fatherGaleazzo II, Gian Galeazzo resided and maintained his court in Pavia, the former capital of theLombard kings and of thekingdom of Italy. Gian Galeazzo aspired to re-establish a new kingdom in Northern Italy, matching these historical examples.^[2]

In 1386, the people of Milan decided to rebuildMilan Cathedral. However, relations between Gian Galeazzo and the heads of theFabbrica del Duomo (the consortium of masons and builders chosen by the citizens of Milan) were often tense: the lord intended to transform Milan cathedral into a dynastic mausoleum of the dynasty, putting the funeral monument of his father Galeazzo II in the central part of the cathedral. This raised strong opposition from both the Fabbrica and the Milanese, who zealously guarded their autonomy. Ultimately Gian Galeazzo chose to build a new church: the Certosa of Pavia, to serve as a mausoleum for the Visconti dynasty. Unscrupulously, he assigned many employees of the Fabbrica del Duomo, such as Giacomo da Campione orGiovannino de 'Grassi for this new projects. For the Duke, the Duomo became the church for burial of nobles, patricians, people, artisan and merchant guilds of Milan, while the Certosa would service the Duchy.^[3]

The church, the last edifice of the complex to be built, was to be the familymausoleum of the Visconti. It was designed as a grand structure with a nave and two aisles, a type unusual for theCarthusian Order. The nave, in theGothic style, was completed in 1465.

Given the absence of marble and stone quarries near the Certosa, around the middle of the fifteenth century, stone material became scarce for construction. The Carthusians enjoyed substantial income from the vast agricultural lands donated byGian Galeazzo Visconti and his successors theSforza. Unlike other large Lombardfabbrici, theCathedral of Pavia, never acquired their own marble quarries, but always relied on private suppliers, often relying mainly on theVeneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano. By 1463 the Milanese yard supplied the marble for the capitals of the cloisters, and in 1473 a contract between the Fabbrica del Duomo and the monks of the Certosa, stibulated the Fabbrica undertook to guarantee a continuous supply of marble and building stone to the Certosa. Control over the marble was entrusted toGuiniforte Solari, who at the time was responsible for both construction sites. The materials, which, similarly to those for the Milan Cathedral, enjoyed the ducal exemption from duties, reached the Certosa via the Navigliaccio and were disembarked inBinasco, from where they continued by cart to the construction site, however, after the restoration of the section navigation between Binasco andPavia (1473) it was possible to unload the marbles and stones directly at the Certosa. Also in 1473 the work of coating and decoration of the facade of the monastery began, for which the Carthusians decided to use, a unique case in the Lombard area, theCarrara marble, then considered of greater value than that of Candoglia and the cost of which was higher than the other materials available in theOssola area.^[4]

By 1476 the Carthusians formed relations with some families of merchants and quarrymen ofCarrara, such as the Maffioli, tenants of the quarries of the MarquisMalaspina. The precious marble, after being embarked in Carrara, circumnavigated Italy and arrived by ship at the mouth of thePo, from where it then went up toPavia. The traffic of Carrara marble towards the Certosa was so voluminous that the Carthusians themselves came to resell it to other Lombard shipyards and in particular to theVeneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano.^[5]

However, since the foundation, the Renaissance had spread in Italy, and the rest of the edifice was built according to the new style, redesigned byGiovanni Solari, continued by his sonGuiniforte Solari, and including some new cloisters. Solari was followed as director of the works byGiovanni Antonio Amadeo, (1481–1499). The church was consecrated on 3 May 1497. The lower part of the façade was not completed until 1507.

The construction contract obliged the monks to use part of the revenue of the lands held inbenefice to the monastery to continue to improve the edifice. Consequently, the Certosa includes a huge collection of artworks of all centuries from the 15th to the 18th.

The Certosa initially only held 12 Carthusian monks, who lived in total cloistered life, and bound by a contract that provided for the use of part of their proceeds (fields, land, income, etc.) for the construction of the monastery itself. In the eighteenth century the monastery was the owner of large estates (in part already donated by Gian Galeazzo and his successors) scattered in the fertile countryside between Pavia and Milan, such as Badile,Battuda,Bernate,Binasco,Boffalora,Borgarello,Carpiano (it was the property of the monks also the castle of Carpiano and the church of San Martino), Carpignano, Milan, Giovenzano,Graffignana,Landriano,Magenta,Marcignago, Opera, Pairana, Pasturago,Quintosole,San Colombano (where they also controlled the castle of San Colombano)Torre del Mangano,Trezzano,Velezzo,Vidigulfo, Vigano Certosino,Vigentino, Villamaggiore,Villanterio, Villareggio andZeccone, which added up to 2,325 hectares (5,745 acres)of irrigated land.^[6]

In addition, the Certosa also owned a large palace, with a garden and oratory in Milan, in the parish of San Michele alla Chiusa, a palace and the church of Santa Maria d'Ognissanti in Pavia and, from the second half of the 17th century, of a large farm specialized in the production of wine, with a building (called Certosa Cantù), inCasteggio.^[7]

In 1560, the Prior General of the Carthusians, a certain Piero Sarde, authorized the installation of suitable equipment for the printing of missals and choirbooks, and on 28 August he invited all the Carthusian monasteries of Italy to supply themselves exclusively with the products of the new printing house (the first bookBreviarium Carthusiensis was printed in 1561).^[8]

In 1782, the Carthusians were expelled from the Certosa by theEmperor Joseph II of Austria, and replaced in 1784 by theCistercians and in 1789, by theCarmelites.

In 1796, in retaliation for the revolt in Pavia, the lead covering of the church roof was removed byNapoleon's army, as well as the liturgical silverware and the large canopy, covered with gold flakes and stones precious, used for theCorpus Domini procession.^[9] In 1810 the monastery was closed until the Carthusians reacquired it in 1843. In 1866 it was declared a National Monument and sequestrated by the Italian State, although some Benedictines resided there until 1880. The monks currently living in the monastery are Cistercians admitted to it in the 1960s.

In August 1946 the illegally exhumed body ofBenito Mussolini was discovered in the complex. Two Franciscan friars werecharged with assisting in the concealment of the body.

Access to the monastic complex is through a Renaissance-era vestibule, frescoed both inside and out. In the faded entrance lunette, two angels hold the coat of arms of the client Gian Galeazzo, with the Visconti snake and the imperial eagle. The upper decoration, drawn byBernardino de 'Rossi in 1508, is better preserved. Inside, a marble arch with plant motifs bears tondi with the effigies of Gian Galeazzo andFilippo Maria Visconti. On the sides, the saints Christopher and Sebastian byBernardino Luini, a follower ofLeonardo. The whole interior is covered with Renaissance motifs in bright colors and decorated with the GRA-CAR monogram (Gratiarum Chartusia, Charterhouse of Grace).^[10]The church is built on aLatin cross plan,^[11] with anave, two aisles andtransept, typical ofGothic architecture. Thechancel terminates with anapse. It is covered bycrossed vaults on Gothic arches and is inspired, on a reduced scale, by theDuomo 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 façade of the church is famous for its exuberant decorations, typical ofLombard architecture, every part being decorated with reliefs, inlaid marble and statues. Sculptors who worked on it includeCristoforo Mantegazza and Giovanni Antonio Amadeo himself andBenedetto Briosco. In addition to applied sculpture, the facade itself has a rich sculptural quality because of the contrast between richly textured surfaces, projecting buttresses, horizontal courses and arched openings, some of which are shadowed, while those in the small belfries are open to the sky. The façade, created by superimposing simple rectangles, is loaded with decorations, a typical procedure ofLombard Renaissance architecture and is made ofCarrara marble and to a lesser extentCandoglia marble, stone ofVarenna,Saltrio stone and Egyptian redporphyry (probably derived from architectural finds from the Roman age).^{[12][13][14][15]}

The sober form of the roughly finished brick front can be seen in a fresco byAmbrogio Bergognone in the apse of the right transept, painted in 1492–1495,^[16] when work was commencing on the new facade, portraying Gian Galeazzo Visconti offering the model of the Certosa to theBlessed Virgin. Its profile, with roofs on three levels, has been compared to the churches ofSanta Maria del Carmine in Pavia andSan Petronio in Bologna;^[17] among the architects in close correspondence at all three projects, Borlini ascribes the form of the original facade at the Certosa to Giacomo da Campione, who was working at Pavia while his uncle Matteo was completing San Giovanni in Monza.^[18]

The architectGiovanni Solari, in building the double row of arcades down the flanks of the church, modified its appearance. After his death he was succeeded in Pavia by his sonGuiniforte Solari, but work came to a halt with the death of Guiniforte in 1478.^[19]

In 1492Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono took up the construction, assisted on site, for he was concurrently occupied with the cathedrals at Pavia and at Milan and other churches, by his inseparable collaborator on both cathedrals, Giovanni Antonio Amadeo. In their hands the project was thoroughly redesigned.^[20] Scores of artists were involved. The classicist style portal is byBenedetto Briosco (1501). The porch has a large arch of classicist form resting on pairedCorinthian columns which are each surmounted by a very strongly modelledcornice on which the arch rests, the construction being derived from the Classical, used byBrunelleschi, and employed here for a bold and striking effect. The decoration is ofbas-reliefs illustrating theHistory of the Certosa. Above the central arch is a shallow balcony of three arches, above which rises the central window.

This campaign was interrupted in 1519 as work was going forward by the condition of French occupation in Lombardy after theWar of the League of Cambrai. French troops were encamped round the Certosa. Notations of work on the facade did not resume until 1554, when a revised design under the direction of Cristoforo Lombardo was approved for the completion of the facade above the second arcade; there marble intarsia was substituted for the rich sculptural decorations of the lower area. Some final details were added byGaleazzo Alessi.^[21]

The frescoes that adorn the walls and vaults of the transept are due, as has been said, toAmbrogio Bergognone assisted by a group of unknown masters, including the very youngBernardo Zenale. A strong imprint ofBramante emerges from these works, in the balance of the proportions and the precision of the perspectives. In the right apse of the transept, Bergognone's fresco withGian Galeazzo Visconti presents the Virgin with the model of the Charterhouse, betweenFilippo Maria Visconti,Galeazzo Maria Sforza andGian Galeazzo Sforza, made between 1490-1495, while the apse on the left representsthe coronation of Mary betweenFrancesco Sforza andLudovico Sforza, with which the latter wanted to celebrate his dynastic succession, obtained not without controversy after the death of his nephew Gian Galeazzo Sforza. The two altarpieces facing each other at opposite ends of the transept areGiovanni Battista Crespi's Baroque masterpieces, theMadonna and ss. Charles and Hugues de Grenoble painted in 1617-18, as well as theMadonna and Saint Bruno.^[22]

The Certosa has painted masterpieces by Bergognone including the panels ofSt. Ambrose (1490), andSan Siro (1491) and, most significantly, theCrucifixion (1490). Other works by Bergognone are now found in other museums of Europe.

The second chapel on the left houses the famous Altarpiece byPietro Perugino, commissioned by DukeLudovico Sforza from the famous Umbrian painter in 1496. It develops over two floors: above theEternal Father, below the three tables with theArchangel Michael, the Adoration of the Child and St. Raphael and Tobias. TheEternal Father alone is original by Perugino; the lower plates were given in 1856 to theNational Gallery in London. In place of the two tables scattered on either side of theEternal Father, the two panels with the Doctors of the Church byBergognone were inserted at the top, made for another Altarpiece of the Certosa which was subsequently dismembered. The altar frontal, in semi-precious stones and polychrome marble, is the work of Tommaso Orsolino from 1648. The chapel houses a wooden relic of the True Cross.^[23]

Other paintings in the church include aHoly Father, panels byGiovanni Battista Crespi,Il Morazzone,Guercino,Francesco Cairo andDaniele Crespi, and a remnant of a polyptych byPerugino.^[24] Originally depicting the Madonna and Saints, it is now disassembled and scattered among museums: the only portion in the Certosa isGod the Father with cherubim. An Annunciation has disappeared; three panels, the Virgin Adoring the Infant Christ,St. Michael and St. Raphael with Tobias are on display at the National Gallery of London, in the United Kingdom.

In the southern transept is the tomb of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, begun in 1494–1497 byGiovanni Cristoforo Romano andBenedetto Briosco, but completed only in 1562. The northern transept houses the tomb ofLudovico Sforza, 7th Duke of Milan, and his wifeBeatrice d'Este. The sculptures on the tomb were carried here in 1564 from the Milanese church ofSanta Maria delle Grazie, the statues generally being considered the masterwork ofCristoforo Solari.

In the Cappella di San Michele (St Michael's Chapel) are frescoes byCarlo Francesco Nuvolone.^[25]The first chapel on the left is in Baroque style. The altarpiece with Mary Magdalene at Christ's feet is byGiuseppe Peroni fromParma (1757), while the fresco decoration is byFederico Bianchi, a pupil ofErcole Procaccini (1663). The altar is made of Egyptian granite, bronze, semi-precious stones and polychrome marble and is the work ofCarlo Sacchi.^[26]The third chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, to whom the cycle of frescoes by the GenoeseGiovan Battista Carlone is dedicated.^[27]The fourth chapel, whose altar is equipped with alabaster columns, preserves a frontal with the Massacre of the Innocents, byDionigi Bussola from 1677, while the altarpiece by the Cremonese painter Pietro Martire Neri (1640–41) depicts the Adoration of the Magi . The chapel preserves two frescoes: Madonna with Child and Saint Jerome byAmbrogio da Fossano.^[28]In the fifth chapel, the Altarpiece byFrancesco Cairo (inserted in a rich baroque altar in alabaster and polychrome marble), representsSaint Catherine of Siena together with her homonymous Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The chapel is illuminated by a large window, with a stained glass window made around 1485 by an anonymous Lombard master on a cartoon byVincenzo Foppa depicting Saint Catherine of Alexandria.^[29]

The sixth chapel on the right houses the Madonna and Child with Saints Peter and Paul, a Baroque masterpiece byGuercino.^[30]The seventh chapel on the left preserves an altarpiece depicting theVirgin of the Rosary, a masterpiece by theMilanese Baroque masterPier Francesco Mazzucchelli, painter in the service of CardinalFederico Borromeo, who creates a work of refined elegance in delicate tones, in the elongated shapes and in the sweet expressions of the characters.^[31]The second chapel on the right houses another Renaissance masterpiece commissioned byLudovico Sforza: the polyptych with the Madonna and Saints Hugh of Langres and Hugh of Canterbury byMacrino d'Alba made in 1496.^[32]If the chancel vault still features Renaissance frescoes, the vast cycle of frescoes that covers the chancel walls was commissioned in 1630 fromDaniele Crespi. It is a composite cycle, with scenes drawn from the New Testament, hagiographies of Carthusian and other saints, skilfully inserted into Gothic architecture through a complex system of decorative squares, framing large sacred scenes and smaller panels with isolated figures of evangelists, doctors of the Church, prophets, sibyls, Carthusians and blessed saints.The dome was frescoed in 1599 byPietro Sorri andAlessandro Casolani with the figures ofGod the Father with the Lamb and the Kings of the Apocalypse.^[33]

The Certosa possesses an important collection ofstained glass windows, executed to cartoons by masters active in Lombardy in the 15th century, includingZanetto Bugatto,Vincenzo Foppa, Bergognone andHans Witz.

In the presbytery there is the large Renaissance carved wooden choir, commissioned byLudovico il Moro. It is remarkable both from the point of view of the inlay, and for the quality of the designs from which the inlays were taken, probably produced by the same artists who created the pictorial decorations such as Bergognone and Zenale. The 42 dossals depict saints or biblical characters, each of which shows architectural or natural scenarios with elaborate and imaginative Renaissance-style constructions. The execution was entrusted by the Duke in 1486 to Bartolomeo de Polli, a Modenese already active at the court of Mantua, and completed by the Cremonese inlayer Pantaleone de Marchi, in time for the consecration of the church, which took place in 1497.^[34]

The great high altar is surmounted by a colossal ciborium in the form of a temple with a central plan with a large dome, built inCarrara marble, with inserts in polychrome marble and precious stones such as lapis lazuli, carnelian, jasper and onyx, and bronze finishes. It was built in 1568 by the sculptor Ambrogio Volpi. The small temple of this altar is enriched by thirteen bronze statuettes by Angelo Marini.^[35] The altar cross, the candelabra and the large candlestick (2.03 meters high) are byAnnibale Fontana.^[36]

The sacristy contains, among other treasures, a triptych inivory andhippopotamus' ivory by theEmbriachi workshop run byBaldassarre degli Embriachi, originally placed in the suite of rooms used by Gian Galeazzo Visconti on his visits. This is one of only three very large pieces by the workshop, who mostly made much smaller marriage caskets. The work, a late Gothic carving masterpiece, measures 2.45 meters at the base for a maximum height, including the pinnacles, of 2.54 meters. It is composed of minute compositions and adorned with small tabernacles with statuettes of saints inside; in the central compartment there are 26 panels illustrating the legend of the Magi according to the apocryphal gospels; in the compartment on the right and on the left, 36 bas-reliefs (18 on each side) depict episodes from the life of Christ and the Virgin. In the median cusp, inside a tondo supported by angels, the figure of God dominates, while the base of the triptych presents a piety, flanked by 14 aedicules with as many statuettes of saints. There are also two external polygonal pillars made up of 40 small tabernacles adorned with statuettes.^[37][38]

It is accessed through the bottom of the right transept, and was decorated in the Baroque period. Originally, the room, built in 1425, housed the chapter and the library of the monastery and was only transformed into a sacristy at the end of the 16th century.

The single large rectangular room was frescoed in 1600 by the Sienese painterPietro Sorri, who, inspired byMichelangelo'sSistine Chapel, covered the great vault with biblical episodes, monumental figures of prophets in niches, and graceful cherubs revolving in goblets. Compared to the Roman model, however, Sorri's work conveys playfulness and lightness to the viewer through the use of bright, clear chromatic chords and the sumptuousness of settings and settings. The wooden cabinets, adorned with statuettes attributed toAnnibale Fontana, are a remarkable work of sculpture. On the altar, the triptych of the Assumption is byAndrea Solario, one of the main representatives of the Leonardesque school that flourished in Milan after the master's departure.^[39]

An elegant portal, with sculptures by the Mantegazza brothers and Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, leads from the church to the Small Cloister (in Italian:Chiostro Piccolo.) This has a small garden in the center. The most striking feature is theterracotta decoration of the small pilasters, executed by Rinaldo de Stauris between 1463 and 1478. Some arcades are decorated by frescoes byDaniele Crespi, now partially ruined. Also noteworthy is the late-14th centurylavabo in stone and terracotta, with scenes of the Jesus with theWoman of Samaria at the Well.

Similar decorations also characterize the Grand Cloister (Italian:Chiostro Grande), which measures c.125x100 meters. The elegant cells of the monks open to the central garden. The arcades have columns with precious decorations in terracotta, with tondoes portraying saints, prophets and angels, alternatively in white and pinkVerona marble. There were once also paintings byVincenzo Foppa, now disappeared.

Since its foundation, the monks had a library, including liturgical texts necessary for daily celebrations, and others, of scientific and humanistic subjects. We know that a first library was set up between 1426 and 1427, but at the end of the sixteenth century its premises were used as a sacristy and constituted the new sacristy of the church and the library was moved to its current smaller location, located on the shorter side of the cloister, where the monastery's infirmary used to be. The library was implemented by the prior Matteo Valerio in the first half of the seventeenth century, who also enriched it with secular texts and manuscripts.

In 1782, with the suppression of the Certosa, its important catalogue was partly divided between the Libraries of Milan and Pavia, even if some volumes were dispersed.^[40] There remained in the library of the monastery 13 illuminated choirbooks by Evangelista della Croce, Benedetto da Corteregia ofBergamo,Vallombrosian monk of the monastery ofSan Lanfranco, and Guarnerio Beretta dating back to the 16th century, with texts and music of the songs of the masses ordered according to the sequence of the year liturgical.^[41][42]

The refectory was one of the first rooms to be built and during the first years of construction it was used as a church, being a very large rectangular room, as indicated in the progress of the works drawn up in 1451 at the request ofFrancesco Sforza. On the west wall of the hall is a small fresco, the oldest in the monastery, in the late Gothic style depicting aMadonna and Child byZavattari. The lowered vault has the oldest decoration, including aMadonna and Child and Prophets in Spectacles attributed toAmbrogio da Fossano, while in the center is the sun or radiant ray, emblem of the Visconti dynasty. The marble pulpit was carved in the early 16th century with the classical arch and statuary balustrade. From there, readings were taken during meals. In 1567,Ottavio Semini crafted the fresco of theLast Supper.^[43]

The museum of the Certosa of Pavia is located in the rooms of the Ducal Palace, the summer residence of the Visconti and Sforza dynasty then used as a guesthouse. The building, modified in 1625 by an intervention on the facade by the architectFrancesco Maria Richini, has a linear succession of windows between semi-columns that give brightness to the entire structure. It houses works from the monastic complex or connected to it. The gallery on the ground floor, the recently refurbished plaster cast gallery, houses more than 200 large and small scale casts.

The gipsoteca collects more than 200 large and small scale casts and some sculptures, including the lamented Christ by Antonio della Porta (early 16th century. In the years from 2002 to 2006, most of these casts were restored and placed, with a new layout by the Superintendence for Architectural and Landscape Heritage of Lombardy, in the ground floor gallery of the Ducal Palace.^[44] Upstairs, the historical setting of 1911 byLuca Beltrami has been maintained and, except for some adjustments, the extraordinary high-reliefs in marble by Bambaia, the sculptures, dating back to around 1480, byGiovanni Antonio Amadeo and Antonio Mantegazza are preserved. Here are also preserved polychrome stone sculptures by Lombard artists of the second half of the fifteenth century, wall paintings of the sixteenth century detached from their original locations, panel paintings, such as the Altarpiece byBartolomeo Montagna, theEcce homo byBramantino,Saint Martin and Saint Ambrose byBernardino Luini. There are also other paintings on canvas byGuglielmo Caccia, byVincenzo Campi, byGiovanni Agostino da Lodi, by Giuseppe Procaccini, byStefano Maria Legnani, byGiuseppe Vermiglio.^[45]

Room C preserves the portraits ofGian Galeazzo, his second wifeCaterina and numerous members of the dynasty. Then there is the study, frescoed in the second half of the 16th century with atrompe-l'oeil landscape, punctuated in squares by monumental monochrome figures with serpentine legs, called telamons, while the vault, decorated with spectacular grotesques painted with a brush tip. on a white background, it houses in the center, within an elliptical frame, the representation of theDream of Constantine. Next to it is room D, originally intended as an oratory of the guesthouse, the vault of which is decorated with frescoes by Giovan Mauro della Rovere known as Fiammenghino. Then there is room F, with masterpieces by Bartolomeo Montagna,Ambrogio Bergognone andBernardino Luini. There are also other rooms with sculptures, paintings and frescoes from the monastery and its construction site.^[46]

• Ludovico Sforza Neither Ludovico nor his spouse Beatrice are actually buried here, this being a cenotaph, i.e. an empty funeral monument
• Beatrice d'Este
• Gian Galeazzo Visconti
• Isabella, Countess of Vertus

• History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes
• History of Italian Renaissance domes
• History of early modern period domes

• L. Beltrami,La Certosa di Pavia, Milan, (1895) rev. 1911. The first scholarly study from which subsequent work departs.
• R. Bossaglia, M. G. Albertini Ottolenghi, F. R. Pesenti ed.,La Certosa di Pavia, Milan, 1968
• R. V. Schofield, J. Shell, G. Sironi,Giovanni Antonio Amadeo/ I documenti, New Press,Como, 1989
• R. Battaglia "Le "memorie" della Certosa di Pavia", inAnnali della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Classe di Lettere e Filosofia, 3.Ser.22.1 (1992) pp. 85–198
• "La Certosa di Pavia tra devozione e prestigio dinastico: fondazione, patrimonio, produzione culturale", inAnnali di Storia Pavese, 1997
• Ambrogio da Fossano, detto il Bergognone, un pittore per la Certosa, M. G. Albertini Ottolenghi, Milano 1998

• Pages Certosa on the site of the City of Certosa di PaviaArchived 2012-07-12 at theWayback Machine
• Pages Certosa on the site of the Municipality of Pavia
• Website of the Certosa di Pavia
• Description of the Charterhouse of Pavia Louis Marquis Malaspina Sannazaro (Milan, 1818)
• Pro Loco Certosa di Pavia's Tourist page
• Adrian Fletcher's Paradoxplace Certosa di Pavia Photo Page
• Images of the Certosa di Pavia c.1860

45°15′25″N9°08′53″E / 45.257°N 9.148°E /45.257; 9.148