The Charterhouse as the memory of a history

The Convent of St. Francis lies halfway on the mountain leading to the Sacra di San Michele (one of the most stunning abbeys of the Susa Valley). It is better known as the Charterhouse, an amazing building surrounded by woods, for centuries a place for reflection, silence, and prayer. It was established as a Franciscan convent in 1515 by the Blessed Tommaso Illirico, who undertook its construction, thanks to a legacy by the Berta family from Avigliana. Throughout the centuries its function has changed several times.

In the ‘90s, the community of Carthusian nuns living there decided to leave it. It was then that the Charterhouse came across Gruppo Abele, which mobilized to buy it and restore it – an intense 18-year effort – to keep it true to its history.

Since September 2011, the Charterhouse has been living a new season. The ancient convent, now belonging to REAM SGR’s Social and Human Purpose Fund and managed by Certosa1515 Onlus, is now ready to fulfil its original purpose: becoming a place of the shared and common good, “a place where heavens and earth, spiritual research and social commitment can meet”.