The Certosa di Bologna 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 (or charterhouse) in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, northern Italy, which was founded in 1334 and suppressed in 1797. In 1801 it became the city's Monumental Cemetery which would be much praised by Byron and others. In 1869 an

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

necropolis, which had been in use from the sixth to the third centuries BC, was discovered here. The Certosa is located just outside the walls of the city, near the

Stadio Renato Dall'Ara Stadio Renato Dall'Ara is a multi-purpose stadium in Bologna, Italy. It is currently used mostly for association football, football matches and the home of Bologna FC 1909, Bologna FC. The stadium was designed by Giulio Ulisse Arata and inaugur ...

, at the foot of the Monte della Guardia and the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca.

The church

The church is dedicated to Saint

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

(San Girolamo). The painting over the high altar is ''The Crucifixion'' by Bartolomeo Cesi; to the left is a ''Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane'' and to the right a ''Deposition'', also by Cesi. The wooden inlaid choir stalls were restored by Biagio De' Marchi in 1538 after a fire started by the

Landsknechts The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were German mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line was f ...

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

. There is a series of large (450 x 350 cm) paintings of episodes from the life of Christ which were commissioned to Giovanni Andrea Sirani (''Christ in the House of Simon'', 1652), Elisabetta Sirani (''The Baptism of Christ'', 1658), Francesco Gessi (''The Miraculous Draught of Fishes'' and ''The Expulsion from the Temple'', 1645), Giovanni Maria Galli da Bibiena (''The Ascension'', 1651), Lorenzo Pasinelli (''Entry into Jerusalem'', 1657), Domenico Maria Canuti, and the Neapolitan Nunzio Rossi (''Adoration of the Shepherds''). There are paintings of several Carthusian martyrs including the Englishmen Blessed William Exmew, Blessed Thomas Johnson, Blessed Richard Bere, and Blessed Thomas Green. Other works by

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top ...

and Bartolomeo Vivarini, Ludovico and

Agostino Carracci Agostino Carracci ( , , ; also Caracci; 16 August 1557 – 22 March 1602) was an Italian painter, printmaker, tapestry designer, and art teacher. He was, together with his brother, Annibale Carracci, and cousin, Ludovico Carracci, one of the fo ...

, in addition to

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as (il) Guercino (), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous n ...

, were taken to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, and when returned to Bologna were deposited in the Pinacoteca Nazionale.

The cemetery

The public cemetery was established in 1801 using the pre-existing structure of the Certosa di San Girolamo di Casara, founded in the middle of the 14th century that was closed by

in 1797. The passion of the local nobility and aristocracy for monumental family tombs transformed the Certosa in an "open-air museum," a stage of the Italian grand tour: it was visited by

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the great ...

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; ; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th ce ...

, and

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, , ), was a French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' ('' The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de Parme'' ('' T ...

. In particular the third

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 ...

(or that of the chapel) is noteworthy: a tour of

neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

-inspired structures with symbology from the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

. Some tombs are painted in

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...

, others are made of

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

and

scagliola Scagliola (from the Italian language, Italian ''scaglia'', meaning "chips") is a type of fine plaster used in architecture and sculpture. The same term identifies the technique for producing columns, sculptures, and other architectural elements t ...

. An aspect that distinguishes the Certosa of Bologna from other monumental cemeteries of Europe is derived from the complex articulation of its use of space. To the original convent nucleus were added lodges, rooms, and porticos that recreate glimpses of a setting that recalls the city of the "living". Even the porticoed eastern entrance of the cemetery, which is linked to the one that leads to the Sanctuary of San Luca with only a small break, creates continuity between

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

and city. The discoveries from an Etruscan necropolis during archeological excavations organized by the engineer Antonio Zannoni, in order to extend the cemetery at the end of the 19th century, are now in the Civic Archeological Museum of Bologna.

Tombs

Among those buried in the Certosa are the following: *

Farinelli Farinelli (; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Farinelli ...

(1705–1782), singer * Gaetano Gandolfi (1734–1802), painter * Mauro Gandolfi (1764–1834), painter * Giuseppina Gargano (1853-1939), opera singer * Giuseppe Grabinski (1771–1843), Polish military officer * Maria Dalle Donne (1778–1842), pioneer woman physician and professor of obstetrics * Isabella Colbran (1785–1845), singer and wife of

Gioacchino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

* Letizia Murat (1802–1859), daughter of

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also ; ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the ...

* Giuseppe Ferlini (1797–1870), tomb plunderer/treasure hunter * Gioacchino Napoleone Pepoli (1825–1881), Italian senator * Nicola Zanichelli (1819–1884), publisher *

Marco Minghetti Marco Minghetti (18 November 1818 – 10 December 1886) was an Italian economist and statesman. Biography Minghetti was born in Bologna, then part of the Papal States. With Antonio Montanan and Rodolfo Audinot he founded at Bologna a pape ...

(1818–1886), Italian prime minister * Severino Ferrari (1856–1905), poet *

Giosuè Carducci Giosuè Alessandro Giuseppe Carducci (27 July 1835 – 16 February 1907) was an Italian poet, writer, literary critic and teacher. He was noticeably influential, and was regarded as the official national poet of modern Italy. In 1906, he became ...

(1835–1907), poet * Alfieri Maserati (1887–1932), car manufacturer *

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions ra ...

(1879–1936), composer *

Aldo Oviglio Aldo Oviglio (7 December 1873–19 August 1942) was an Italian lawyer and politician, who served as the first Minister of Justice (Italy), minister of justice in the Mussolini government between October 1922 and January 1925. Born in Rimini and ...

(1873–1942), first

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

of the Mussolini government * Edoardo Weber (1889–1945), engineer * Assunta Viscardi (1890–1947), school teacher in the process of beatification * Riccardo Stracciari (1875–1955), singer *

Giorgio Morandi Giorgio Morandi (July 20, 1890 – June 18, 1964) was an Italian painter and printmaker widely known for his subtly muted still-life paintings of ceramic vessels, flowers, and landscapes—their quiet, meditative quality reflecting the artist's ...

(1890–1964), painter * Bruno Saetti (1902–1984), painter * Riccardo Bacchelli (1891–1985), novelist *

Ferruccio Lamborghini Ferruccio Lamborghini ( ; ; 28 April 1916 – 20 February 1993) was an Italian automobile designer, soldier, inventor, mechanic, engineer, winemaker, industrialist, and businessman who created Lamborghini Trattori in 1948 and the Lamborghini, ...

(1916–1993), industrialist * Farpi Vignoli (1907–1997), sculptor *

Lucio Dalla Lucio Dalla (; 4 March 1943 – 1 March 2012) was an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He also played clarinet and keyboards. Dalla was the composer of "Caruso (song), Caruso" (1986), a song dedicated to Italian opera tenor Enri ...

(1943–2012), singer

References

External links

* Comune of Bologn

* Official websit

* * Link to the third cloiste

* Link to the fallen during the Resistance during World War II, resistance of World War I

* Link to fallen during World War

{{DEFAULTSORT:Certosa Di Bologna Tourist attractions in Bologna 1801 establishments in Italy Cemeteries in Italy Roman Catholic cemeteries in Italy Buildings and structures in Bologna Carthusian monasteries in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Bologna

The church

The cemetery

Tombs

See also

References

External links