Certosa di Padula
Padula Charterhouse, in Italian Certosa di Padula (or Certosa di San Lorenzo di Padula), is a large Carthusian monastery, or charterhouse, located in the town of Padula, in the Cilento National Park, in Southern Italy. It is a World Heritage Site. The monastery is the largest in Italy. Its building history covers 450 years, but the principal parts of the buildings are in Baroque style. It is a very large monastery, comprising 51,500 m2 (12.7 acres), with 320 rooms and halls. History Padula Charterhouse was founded by Tommaso di San Severino on 27 April 1306 on the site of an earlier monastery. It is dedicated to Saint Lawrence, and its architectural structure supposedly recalls the griddle-iron upon which the saint was burnt alive. The monastery has the biggest cloister in the world, covering 12,000 m2 (2.97 acres) and surrounded by 84 columns. A famous spiral staircase of white marble inside an annex leads to the large library. According to the strict Carthusian distinction between contemplation and work, there are two distinct places for these practices: on the one hand the peaceful cloisters, the library with its fine Vietri ceramic tiled floor, the chapels decorated with fine inlaid marble works. The