Certosa di San Giacomo was a

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 i ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

, founded in 1363 by Giacomo Arcucci on the island of

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has be ...

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

, southern

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 ...

. It is now a museum and is used for cultural events. The buildings that formed the charterhouse have three main areas: the pharmacy and women's church, the buildings for monks, and those for guests. The cloister (''Chiostro Grande'') is of a late Renaissance design, while the ''Chiostro Piccolo'' features Roman marble columns.

History

Count Giacomo Arcucci, a secretary to Joan I of Naples, established the charterhouse in 1371. He later became a monk himself in 1386. In 1553 the monastery was restored and fortified and a tower was erected which collapsed in the 18th century. There was often conflict between the islanders and the monks, who owned land as well as grazing and hunting rights. During the 1656

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

in Capri, the monks sealed themselves off, whereupon the islanders threw their corpses over the wall of the monastery in retribution. Since 1974 the charterhouse houses the

Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...

museum among others and is used for cultural events. A high school is also on the premises.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Capri, Campania 1363 establishments in Europe 14th-century establishments in Italy Monasteries in Campania Carthusian monasteries in Italy