Certosa di Padula, la reggia della luce e del silenzio Le Guide di Paestum e Velia en

The Charterhouse of Padula is dedicated to Saint Lorenz and is the first of the three monasteries in Campania.

It is located in a beautiful place, the Diano valley, surrounded by a fantastic natural panorama, at the foot of the medieval village.

On January 28th 1306 the Count of Marsico and  Lord of Diano, Tommaso Sanseverino, nephew of San Tommaso d'Aquino committed the erection of the monastery.

Nowadays in Italy there are still different active charterhouses as that of Serra San Bruno in Calabria, the oldest one. This one, on the contrary, is empty, there are no monks anymore.

In fact, since 1982 it has been a national museum and, since 1998 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It’s a place of art par excellence. Despite the absence of the monks, every single room speaks about their life, their habits and rules, thus offering also spiritual emotions. With its 52 thousand square meters, it is among the largest monasteries in the world. The imposing baroque façade is decorated with statues of saints and martyrs and the Madonna on top. It introduces us to an enchanting world! The low part of the monument is decorated with lively frescoes. In the church there are: a precious wooden medieval door, two finely inlaid wooden choirs with seats for the monks, decorations of the crossing vaults and a unique altar. There is also a refectory with its splendid polychrome marbles, the sumptuous kitchen where Sofia Loren and Omar Sharif  made the movie "Once upon a time". In the high part of the building, we find  the magnificent large cloister, the monks' cells and the imposing monumental staircase. Storytelling, mottoes and anecdotes will interrupt the silence in which the Carthusians lived. A guided walk between meditation and contemplation.