The Monumental Charterhouse in Calci – 12 km

The Charterhouse of Calci near Pisa is a monastic complex founded in 1367 and expanded during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In 1634 the Florentine architect Matteo Nigetti, a pupil and collaborator of Bernardo Buontalenti, designed the large cloister around which the cells of the fathers are distributed. Between 1764 and 1797, the prior Alfonso Maggi began a phase of important expansion of the monument and embellishment works which will transform the Charterhouse into one of the most significant eighteenth-century architectural complexes in Tuscany. It became State property in 1866 and the complex was declared a national monument. Today it houses the Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of the Charterhouse.

In the museum’s itinerary, which traverses the fascinating interior of the Monastery, are objects of indubitable scientific interest, such as the antique pharmacy and the ingenious hydraulic system.