Pisa Charterhouse (Calci Charterhouse) is a former

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), 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 ...

monastery, and is the home of the Pisa Museum of Natural History. It is 10 km outside

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The monastery is noted for the

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

of the ''Last Supper'', by

Bernardino Poccetti Bernardino Poccetti (26 August 1548 – 10 October 1612), also known as Barbatelli, was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker of etchings. Biography Born in Florence, he was initially trained as a decorator of facades and ceilings, enrol ...

(1597).

Charterhouse

The

Carthusians The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), 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 ...

founded a monastery in 1366/67 in what is called Val Graziosa, a plain overlooked by the Monti Pisani when

Francesco Moricotti Prignani Francesco Moricotti Prignani (Prignano) (died 1394) was an Italian bishop and Cardinal. A cardinal-nephew, he was created Cardinal in 1378 by his uncle Pope Urban VI. He was Archbishop of Pisa_from_1362._He_was_named_Bishop_of_Palestrina.html" ;" ...

was archbishop of Pisa. Shortly afterwards

Pope Gregory XI Pope Gregory XI ( la, Gregorius, born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pope ...

, a noted reformer of monasteries, expelled the monks from the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Gorgona Abbey, on the island of Gorgona, and gave the island and the estate to the Carthusians of Val Graziosa, who repopulated them. This event must have happened not long before

Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...

's visit of 1375, as she mentions in her letters the need to convert the facilities for the Carthusian use. Benedictines were barred from the island. In 1425, the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

reached a peak of political instability. The peace and safety of the monks on Gorgona could no longer be assured. Fearing a

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

attack they abandoned the monastery and took up residence at Calci, bringing the records from Gorgona with them, to be duly published at Pisa. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the complex was renovated, receiving its current

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

appearance. After WW2 members of convents from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

started to repopulate the building that had been heavily damaged during the war years. It was thought that a Dutch Carthusian monastery in Italy could one day lead to the re-establishment of a Carthusian monastery in the Netherlands. However, a lack of funds, lack of novices and internal strife caused the Dutch to abandon their project in the 1960s. While the most recent monks to have lived in the monastery left in 1972, the monastic living quarters have since been renovated and are also open to the public.

Museum

In 1981, the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

moved its

natural history museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

to the Pisa Charterhouse. The collection was started in Pisa in the 16th century as a cabinet of curiosities connected to the

Giardino dei Semplici This list of botanical gardens in Italy is intended to include all significant botanical gardens and arboretums in Italy. * Abruzzo ** Alpine Botanical Garden of Campo Imperatore ( Giardino Botanico Alpino di Campo Imperatore) ** Gi ...

. It houses one of the largest collections of

cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...

s skeletons in Europe. The museum also includes a collection of 51 glass marine invertebrates made by

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

glass artists

Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka Leopold Blaschka (27 May 1822 – 3 July 1895) and his son Rudolf Blaschka (17 June 1857 – 1 May 1939) were glass artists from Dresden, Germany, native to the Bohemian (Czech)–German borderland, and known for the production of biological m ...

Notes

External links

* {{coord, 43, 43, 19, N, 10, 31, 22, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title 1366 establishments in Europe 14th-century establishments in Italy Monasteries in Tuscany Carthusian monasteries in Italy University of Pisa University museums in Italy Natural history museums in Italy Museums established in 1981 Fresco paintings in Pisa Museums in Pisa 1981 establishments in Italy