|
 St.
Lawrence Carthusian Monastery is one of the most impressive
buildings of all Southern Italy, and, as
usual, it is virtually unknown to the people that look for a
cultural holiday in Italy. It is the second largest Chartreuse in
Italy after the one in Parma. It was founded by Tommaso San Severino
in 1306 on the site of an existing coenoby. It is dedicated to St.
Lawrence, and its architectural structure recalls the grate upon
which the saint was burnt alive. According to the stern carthusian
rules between contemplation and work in use in the Chartreuse there
are two distinct places for these practices: the peaceful cloisters,
the library with its nice fine Vietri ceramic tiled floor, the
chapels decorated with fine inlaid marble works, the cloister
orchards ; and the large kitchen - where the legendary one thousands
egg omelet was cooked for Charles V -, the cellars with their
enormous wine vats, the laundries, and the huge external yards,
where there were people working at the stables, ovens, stores, and
at the olive oil mill. The yards were used for productive activities
and for trade exchanges of the Chartreuse with the external world.
The Monastery houses the archaeological museum of Western Lucania,
which preserves a collection of all the finds unearthed in the
excavations at the necroplis of Sala Consilina and Padula. This
museum represents a period of time ranging
from proto-history to the Ellenistic Age. |
