Certosa di Padula; Part III – May 2, 2018 – Padula, Italy

In our time in Italy we have seen a lot of choir seating, doors, and various sculptures that are ornately crafted and carved. For some reason the woodwork in the Certosa di Padula caught my eye more than other places we visited.

The church door was created in 1374 out of Cedar of Lebanon. It is decorated with scenes from the Annunciation of Mary, Saint Lorenzo and more. The set of doors got a lot of use: prayers were said twice a day and once during the night.

Inside the church entrance doors are 24 choir stalls. The back or dossals of each seat includes a Saint or one of the four Evangelists or a bishop or martyr. The bottoms of each chair depict a landscape scene.

And finally architectural buildings at the bottom of the stalls.

A couple of the dossals:

This chapel off the main nave includes storage closets made from maple and walnut wood.

A second set of 36 choir stalls are in the main altar space. These are known as the chorus of the fathers and are dated back to 1503.

The tile floor in this room.

Visitors aren’t allowed to walk on the floor so I was unable to see most of the choir stalls. This one is nearest the viewing area.

The detail work above the stalls.

One row of the choir stalls.

Another back to a choir stall.

A side chapel.

The choir stalls in yet another chapel.

Going through my photographs I wished I had taken more time to view each one of the choir stalls. Each scene is interesting and the craftsmanship is artistic in its creation and completion.