WDEC 2024 at the Ferrara Charterhouse

Ferrara unveils a rich program of events at the Ferrara Charterhouse in Italy to celebrate the Week of Discovering European Cemeteries 2024.

Free Guided Tours

To mark the occasion, Ferrara Tua will offer a package of free guided tours, available in both Italian and English, lasting approximately 1h 30min.

The tours will be organized along three routes: "Stories of Ferrara", dedicated to personalities who have contributed to the development and storytelling of Ferrara; "The Seven Arts", in honor of writers, painters, and directors who, after international successes, returned to their hometown for their eternal rest; and "The Certosa Monumentale", a cross-sectional overview of the history, roots, and artistic heritage of the city's Open-Air Museum.

Schedule of guided tours

Friday, May 24th

• 5:00 pm - Stories of Ferrara (Italian)
• 7:30 pm - The Seven Arts (Italian)

Saturday, May 25th

• 10:00 am - The Certosa Monumentale (Italian)
• 11:30 am - The Certosa Monumentale (English)

Sunday, May 26th

• 10:00 am - The Seven Arts (Italian)
• 11:30 am - The Certosa Monumentale (Italian)
• 6:00 pm - Stories of Ferrara (Italian)

Guided tours are curated by InFerrara and can be booked on the website https://www.inferrara.it/.
For information: 0532-419190.

Enchanting Musical Soirees

Enriching the program are three unmissable musical events that will accompany the summer in Certosa with exciting notes and evocative atmospheres.

PIANO ESTENSE - DAWN PIANO CONCERT
Saturday, June 8th, from 6:00 am to 10:00 am

The magic of the dawn concert - part of the Piano Estense program - will envelop the gardens of the Certosa di Ferrara. The first light of day will intertwine with the notes of the piano played by young talents on multiple hands, in an immersive and evocative experience that will accompany the spectators until 10:00 am.

Entrance from Via Borso 1.

CARMINA BURANA IN CERTOSA: SUGGESTIONS AT SUNSET WAITING FOR THE PINK NIGHT
Saturday, June 29th, at 8:00 pm

The sunset will be the backdrop for an exciting concert with the chamber version of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana". Produced by the Conservatorio Frescobaldi di Ferrara, the concert will feature an orchestra composed of two half-tail pianos, four percussionists, and a 60-element choir. The synergy between the two sections will give life to a performance of great impact.

Entrance from Viale della Certosa.

CERTOSA DAWN CONCERT
Sunday, July 7th, at 6:00 am

As tradition dictates, on the occasion of the Notte Rosa, a special event awaits music lovers at the Certosa di Ferrara. The protagonist of the dawn concert will be the pianist Gile Bae, who will offer a solo piano recital capable of exciting and involving the audience. Her notes will intertwine with the light of dawn, creating a unique and evocative experience. The Artistic Direction is by Ferrara Musica. 

Entrance from Viale della Certosa.

Acknowledgments

The program was created in collaboration with the Municipality of Ferrara, ASCE, Utilialia - Sefit, InFerrara, Associazione Life, Teatro Comunale Foundation, Ferrara Musica, Conservatorio Frescobaldi.

Ferrara Charterhouse (Ferrara, Italy)

Defined by six centuries of history, this stunning place has evolved from a monks' monastery to a monumental cemetery and a true open-air museum.

Cemetery history

The Ferrara Charterhouse has accompanied the most salient stages of Ferrara’s evolution, a city initially cradle of the Renaissance, then northern offshoot of the Church State during the legatizia age, and later Napoleonic centre and rearguard in the liberation process. Stages that have left their marks on this monument’s transformations over time.

The main milestones in the cemetery's history are:

• 1438 - The Order of Carthusians’ reception in the city was proposed during the Council of Basel, which was transferred to Ferrara that year.
• 1452 - Borso d’Este, the future first Duke of Ferrara, arranged and financed the construction of the monastery and the complex to be used by the Carthusian monks, who would settle there in 1461. Borso’s remains are still preserved in the exedra near the entrance to the First Great Cloister.
• 1498 - Ercole I d’Este arranged for the complex to be incorporated within the Herculean Addition and entrusted the monumentalisation of the Church of San Cristoforo to the great court architect Biagio Rossetti.
• 1799 - At the behest of Napoleon, the Charterhouse was repurposed as barracks for the cavalry and the monastery was secularised.
• 1813 - The Carthusian complex, now owned by the Municipality, was transformed into a monumental cemetery based on the design by Ferdinando Canonici, with the contribution of Antonio Foschini, Giuseppe Campana, Leopoldo Cicognara, Giovanni Pividor, Niccolò Matas and Antonio Diedo.
• 1962 - The Second Great Cloister, the last of a series of expansions made between the nineteenth century and the fascist era, was completed.

Cemetery significance

Ferrara, whose historic centre is now recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the birthplace of numerous great figures in the fields of literature and the visual arts, who, after their lives of fame and international success, returned to their hometown to be laid to rest.

The Ferrara Chartherhous includes the graves of poets, architects, sculptors, painters, and film directors.

It also includes important religious and military points such as the terracotta Via Crucis by eclectic sculptor Ulderico Fabbri and the Memorial Chapel of the Dead by Carlo Savonuzzi built at the behest of the Municipality to commemorate the nineteenth century soldiers who died in the field and military hospitals during the First and Second World Wars.

Furthermore, the Ferrara Charterhouse holds a unique place among Ferrara’s vast range of monuments. It’s a place where memories of the past, masterpieces of sacred art, and traces of the relationship between the city and the community lie enshrined, shrouded in silence, and enveloped in an atmosphere of peaceful meditation. Visiting the Charterhouse means delving into the deepest recesses of Ferrara’s history of sculpture, architecture and urbanism.

It is also a park of over 6 hectares located in the heart of the city. An immense and peaceful green area, in which rare and extraordinarily beautiful trees and plant varieties live and grow. The perfect destination to enjoy moments of reflection in contact with nature.

Cemetery address

Via Borso 1
44121 Ferrara
Italy

Cemetery contacts

Chiara Bruschi
E-mail: chiara.bruschi@ferraratua.it
Phone: 0532 230155

Ilaria Tabellini
E-mail: ilaria.tabellini@holdingferrara.it
Phone: 0532 230155

Website: www.certosadiferrara.it

Basic data

Managing organization: Holding Ferrara Servizi S.r.l. and Ferrara Tua s.r.l
Current area: 6 ha
Approximate number of graves: 25.738
Main nationalities: Italian, American, Argentinian, Libyan, Croatian