The Charterhouse of Paradigna or the Charterhouse of Parma.
The Charterhouse of Paradigna, that inspired French writer Stendhal for his novel The Charterhouse of Parma, was built between 1314 and 1324 by benedictine workers. It is one of the most beautiful examples of the Cistercian culture, with squared apses, the predominance of a central nave on the aisles, a polygonal base of the cupola at the crossing with the nave and the transipt connected to squared chapels. Many changes have been made during the centuries. By instance, the present facade dates back to the beginning of the 18th century. On the right side can be seen the remains of a 15th century construction. Even the ancient convent has been consistently modified in the 16th and 18th centuries. The interior, with three naves, has a covering with a croos vault; the floor is higher than the original one, the leaflike capitals are made of stone. The base of the cupola has a vault hiding the view of the octagonal tower. The area of the apse is divided in two bays with a cross vault and a keystone. In the apse there are still some frescoes of the 16th century; those on the vault were painted in 1580 by Cesare Baglione. The second chapel of the west transipt was decorated with stuccos in the 17th century, and between the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century big statues of saints were put upon the pillars. How to get there Located 7 kms north of Parma, on the right along SS 343 direction Colorno.
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Photo credit: © lugris / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: abbey, ages, charterhouse, church, cistercian, convent, emilia, italy, lugris2, medieval, middle, padana, paradigna, parma, po, religion, romagna, romanesque, stendhal, style, tourism, travel, valle, valley, viaggi
