La Certosa di San Cristoforo dopo le soppressioni, una ricerca aperta: fonti documentarie e materiali per la ricostruzione di perdute testimonianze dell’assetto certosino

This article concerns the conversion of the Certosa of Ferrara into a public cemetery. Archival documents suggest the theoretical reconstruction of several parts of the ancient monastery, including wells, fireplaces, portals, the refectory sink and pulpit. Documents also describe the dismantling (1812) of Borso d’Este’s funeral monument, which was housed in the monks’ cemetery because he was founder of the Certosa. Literary sources recall various interventions carried out on this mausoleum; however, the report on demolition gives specific information about its final form. Furthermore, in the transformation of the monastic church, a masonry structure that originally delimited the monks’ choir was dismantled; it was marked by architectural elements carved in stone and embossed with golden details. Analysis of documents and observation of the surviving parts of the Certosa give us a more detailed picture of this Carthusian monastery built in the second half of the fifteenth century.