We had coffee
with our Lucca friends, Celia and Enzo, on Monday and Celia recommended that we
visit the Monastery in Calci, so we drove down on Tuesday. The monastery is one
of the oldest Carthusian monasteries in Italy. It was built in 1366 and abandon
by the monks in 1972. The Carthusian monks were hermits who lived in seclusion
and dedicated their lives to prayer, meditation and contemplation. The monks
spent most of their day in silence and isolation, only coming together for
meals and prayer services. In its prime, the monastery housed only 15 senior
monks and 60 friars, who did most of the work in the fields (olives, grapes,
vegetables, animals). The facility was
in amazingly good condition and gave us a great perspective on monastery life.
The Monastery was located out in the countryside away from the general population
It was a massive structure of palace proportions and splendor
With lots of gardens and green space within the walled facility
It had its own pharmacy
This is the family tree of the order starting with its founder, St Bruno at the bottom
The refectory is where the monks gathered together to share meals
This fresco shows what meal time looked like.
The inner courtyard was for the senior monks (fathers), who each had a
cell (or small apartment) opening onto the courtyard.
Many were buried in the courtyard in simple graves.
The cloisters surrounded the inner courtyard where the monks walked in silence.
The bedroom contained a small bed and a prayer station.
Each cell had it's own private courtyard with fruit trees.
There were 4 small chapels in the monastery for prayer and reflection.
...as well as a larger church
The monastery had some amazing original fresco paintings that were in almost perfect condition
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