by Redazione 05/11/2026
Categories: Museums / Disclaimer
To protect the precious 18th-century floor, visitors must remove their shoes before entering the main hall of the Certosa di Padula Library. These new visiting guidelines have been introduced to protect one of the most valuable spaces in the monastic complex.
To visit the Library of the Certosa di San Lorenzo in Padula (Salerno), visitors must enter in their socks. This is the unique feature of the new visiting procedures introduced to protect one of the most precious spaces in the monastic complex: before entering the main hall, which features an elegant 18th-century majolica floor, visitors must remove their shoes and put on socks.
The new policy coincides with extended opening hours: starting October 31, the library will also be open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., except on holidays. To reach the main hall, visitors will also be required to wear shoes with rubber soles to preserve the 38 stone steps of the spectacular spiral staircase leading to the antechamber. The decision to allow visitors to enter without shoes is driven by a need for preservation and sustainability: it helps safeguard the historic surfaces while simultaneously reducing the plastic waste associated with the use of disposable shoe covers.
The majolica floor of the main hall, created in the 18th century by Donato and Giuseppe Massa, is one of the library’s most prized features. The room also houses a large canvas by Leonardo Olivieri, dated 1763, which decorates the ceiling with depictions of Aurora in her chariot, the Last Judgment, and the Allegory of Science. The walls, meanwhile, feature frescoes painted in 1769 by Filippo Pascale.
Before the looting that took place following the Bourbon Restoration of 1811, the Carthusian Fathers’ Library contained approximately 20,000 volumes dating from various periods. Today, however, only about 2,000 remain, while others are housed at the National Library of Naples.
Founded in 1306 by Tommaso Sanseverino, the Certosa di San Lorenzo covers over 50,000 square meters and is the first monastic complex founded in Campania by the Carthusian Order, as well as one of the largest monastic complexes in Europe. It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.
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| At the Certosa di Padula Library, visitors must wear socks to protect the 18th-century majolica tile floor |
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