Charterhouse of Bologna

The Certosa of Bologna, one of the oldest and most fascinating monumental cemeteries in Italy, offers an extraordinary journey through art, history, and culture. Located just outside the city walls, near the Renato Dall’Ara stadium, the cemetery occupies the area of an ancient Carthusian monastery, founded in the 14th century and suppressed by Napoleon in 1797. The transformation of the monastery into a municipal cemetery took place in 1801, marking the beginning of a new era for this space. The complex of the Certosa of Bologna is famous for its extraordinary collection of neoclassical and 19th-century art. With over 6,000 artifacts of historical and artistic interest, the cemetery is a true open-air museum, where the works of internationally renowned sculptors and painters find a place alongside tombs and funerary monuments. Among the artists who have contributed to the beauty of the place are Antonio Canova, Giacomo De Maria, and Giovanni Putti, whose works harmoniously integrate with the architecture of the complex. The architecture of the Certosa is the result of various phases of expansion and restructuring, which saw the participation of architects such as Ercole Gasparini, Angelo Venturoli, and Luigi Marchesini. The cloisters, galleries, and chapels of the cemetery reflect a stylistic evolution ranging from Gothic to Renaissance, to neoclassical. The Sala della Pietà, created by Venturoli, and the New monumental entrance, designed by Gasparini, are just a few examples of the architectural richness of the complex. The Chiostro III, also known as the Chiostro delle Madonne or dell’Ossario, is one of the most suggestive elements of the Certosa. Here you can find valuable funerary monuments, including the terracotta sculptures by Alfonso Lombardi and the works of Filippo Pedrini. The cloister is also the burial place of numerous illustrious figures, including the painter Giorgio Morandi and the writer Riccardo Bacchelli. The Certosa of Bologna is also an important archaeological site. During the expansion works of the cemetery in the 1860s, numerous artifacts from the Etruscan necropolis were discovered, dating back to the 6th-4th century BC. These findings, now preserved in the Archaeological Civic Museum of Bologna, testify to the antiquity of the site and its historical importance. The Certosa was also a fundamental stop on the Grand Tour, the educational journey that, between the 18th and 19th centuries, brought young European aristocrats to visit the main Italian art cities. Figures such as Charles Dickens, Stendhal, and Giacomo Leopardi visited the cemetery, fascinated by the beauty of its monuments and the tranquility of the place.