Certosa di San Martino, Naples, Italy

The Certosa di San Martino is a former monastery complex and now a museum. Along with Castel Sant'Elmo that stands beside it, this is the most visible landmark of the city, perched atop the Vomero hill that commands the gulf. A Carthusian monastery, it was finished and inaugurated under the rule of Queen Joan I in 1368. It was dedicated to St. Martin of Tours. During the first half of the 16th century it was expanded. Later, in 1623, it was further expanded and became, under the direction of architect Cosimo Fanzago, essentially the structure one sees today.

In the early 19th century, under French rule the monastery was closed and was abandoned by the religious order. Today, the buildings house a museum with a display of Spanish and Bourbon era artifacts, as well as displays of the presepe—Nativity scene—considered to be among the finest in the world.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Domenico Sposito (3 months ago)
Dear guys, that place has a simply magnificent view,The weather wasn't great but the view paid for everything...

Megan Mitchley (8 months ago)
This Certosa is beautiful and has a lot of potential. The rooms we were able to see were beautiful. Unfortunately, we paid €7.00 pp to visit today but only got to visit half of the Certosa because a lot of the areas were closed. They don't tell you when buying your ticket. We felt like we were walking around like lost chickens. They don't have an organised route or path to follow either. We have visited many monasteries, and this one has left us disappointed.

Jon Huang (10 months ago)
There is a lot of climbing on the steep street and mointain. A place for contemplative quiet time. As a museum, it is 2-star, as a historical relic, it is 4-star, as a place of history, it is definitely 5-star Love the sundial room, love the garden, love the fountains.

Stefan Mu (11 months ago)
Nice place with lots of history and freat views over the city, the Vesuvio and up to Capri and Ischia!

Morgane Clara (14 months ago)
The museum part is pretty small-or at least it was in February probably due to off season (a lot of rooms were closed and parts of the gardens were not accessible due to renovations) but it was still very beautiful! The view is amazing and the interiors are beautiful.

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