Certosa di Montebenedetto da Monte Salancia

Montebenedetto Charterhouse () is a former

Carthusian 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 th ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

(or charterhouse) in the

Val di Susa The Susa Valley (; ; ; ; ) is a valley in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont region of northern Italy, located between the Graian Alps in the north and the Cottian Alps in the south. It is one of the longest valleys of the Italian Alps. It ...

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

History

In 1189-91 the

Carthusians 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 ...

founded Losa Charterhouse (''Certosa della Losa'') at Losa in

Gravere Gravere () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin. Until 1713, it was the first commune in the Val di Susa in the Duchy of Savoy when coming from France ...

. The site quickly proved unsuitable and the monks built a new monastery on lands given by Tommaso of Moriana, Montebenedetto Charterhouse, which the Losa community occupied in 1197 or 1198.Parco-Orsiera.it: Certosa di Montebenedetto
/ref> In 1205 the charterhouse, which already owned the Orsiera valley, acquired the estate of Banda, situated lower down the mountains and more accessible than the monastery, where they established a

grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * The Grange (Toronto), Toronto, Ontario, built in 1817 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to ...

, the monastery infirmary and a guest house. During the 15th century pressure grew within the monastery for the community to move down to the valley floor. In 1473 the premises were largely destroyed in a flood, and in 1498 the monks re-settled to expanded premises at Banda, from then onwards Banda Charterhouse. From this date the premises at Montebenedetto were reduced to the status of a grange and came to be used as a farmstead. The community at Banda moved in 1598 to Avigliana Charterhouse, but

Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel I (; 12 January 1562 – 26 July 1630), known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 30 August 1580 until his death almost 50 years later in 1630, he was the longest-reigning Savoyard monarch ...

, had the buildings destroyed for defensive reasons in 1630. The dispossessed monks were given Collegno Charterhouse in 1642, but in the intervening years temporarily reoccupied the buildings at Montebenedetto and Banda. Repair and restoration works took in 1987 and 2000, focussing on the monastic church.

Location and structure

Montebenedetto is situated at an altitude of 1,120 metres above sea level, in a clearing surrounded by woods, next to the Fontane river. It is now part of the ''comune'' of Villar Focchiardo. The best-preserved part of the monastery is the former Carthusian church (built in the Romanesque style in the 13th century). The great and small

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

s, the cells and the buildings of the lay brothers were damaged in the flood and fell into ruin after the monastery was abandoned.

References

Carthusian monasteries in Italy Monasteries in Piedmont {{Christian-monastery-stub