About the photo
My husband, Philip Katz, took this photo on a very cold February morning in northern Italy in 2004. This is the perspective of a visitor entering the grounds of the Charterhouse of Pavia, a Carthusian monastery whose church (the structure you see here) was built during the first half of the fifteenth century with the support and under the direction of the Visconti family. The complex grew to include a summer residence for the ducal family of Milan and a small and large cloister. The decoration of the church is sumptuous to say the least. We greatly enjoyed our visit despite the freezing temperatures inside and out. When we arrived, snowflakes were beginning to fall, heralding a major storm. After leaving Pavia, we sojourned bravely in our little rental car as far as Parma, where we had to leave the highway because the authorities were closing it down. We highly recommend visiting northern Italy — but never again will we tour in the winter and by car!
View of interior of monk’s residence and garden in the large cloister.
