Carthusian Monastery of Trisulti in Collepardo

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St. Benedict in the heart of Ciociaria

Another stop on the Benedictine Way gives visitors the chance to immerse themselves in an atmosphere of emotions, art and culture by visiting the Carthusian Monastery of Trisulti in Collepardo in the province of Frosinone. The Carthusian Monastery or Certosa rises up at an altitude of 825 metres, immersed in the secular oak woods of the Hernici Hills, bordering the National Park of Abruzzo. This wonderful complex of buildings is the perfect place to regenerate and find serenity. The construction of the monastery dates back to 1204 when it was built on the remains of the ancient Benedictine abbey dating back to the year 1000, of which some ruins can still be seen today. The building, despite a series of works carried out over time, including restoration in 1958, has kept its original Romanesque-Gothic style. Originally inhabited by Benedictines for around two centuries, in 1204 it was handed over to the Carthusians who constructed the building we can still see today and kept it until 1947, when it was entrusted to the Cistercian Congregation of Casamari.

Guided tour

The buildings can be accessed via a door decorated with a low-relief depicting St. Bartholomew, protector of the Carthusians. In the main square of the monastery are the medieval facade of the Palace of Innocence III, which today houses an important Library, and the Neoclassical facade of the church.

Rebuilt in the eighteenth century on the original floor plan and maintaining the division in two parts typical of Carthusian churches, separating the monks from the converts, the church is dedicated to St. Bartholomew and houses frescoes and paintings by Filippo Balbi, the burial place of two knights of the crusades, and other works such as a portrayal of the Massacre of the Innocents and of the battle at Casamari against the Lanzichenecchi. The tour continues with a visit to the Cloister and the Chapter House but above all the ancient pharmacy, today a museum, to which this place owes much of its fame. A work by Filippo Balbi from the 1700s, it is decorated with frescoes by the painter G. Manco, and still houses glass cabinets and glass bottles used by the monks to preserve the herbs and spices they collected from the surrounding hills and used to extract the essences and aromas still produced in the monastery today.

In brief