Certosa di Parma, Carthusian monastery in Parma, Italy

The Certosa di Parma is a former Carthusian monastery on the western edge of the city, comprising a Baroque church, two cloisters, and a series of traditional monastic cells. The entire compound sits within a high perimeter wall and displays a mix of Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical architectural elements.

Rolando Taverna, bishop of Spoleto, founded the monastery in 1285; the Carthusian general chapter incorporated it in 1286 as Sanctae Mariae de Schola Dei, and Bishop Obizzo Sanvitale consecrated the church in 1289. After damage in the 1551 siege of Parma, rebuilding began in 1562. The Baroque church was built between 1671 and 1722 on designs by Francesco Pescaroli, and the monastery was suppressed in 1769.

The name Schola Dei, "School of God", was kept from the monastery's 1286 incorporation into the Carthusian order until its suppression. The church is dedicated to Saint Jerome. The altarpieces now on the altars were brought here from other churches in the early 20th century; the original panels are in the Galleria Nazionale di Parma.

The complex is not open to visitors except on special occasions; the monumental areas are otherwise closed. It houses the Penitentiary Police training school, which maintains and restores the buildings and lodges about 200 trainees. Access is from Strada della Certosa 20, near Via Mantova, at the city's edge.

The printing press was not a 15th-century workshop: the Carthusians hosted one of the first presses in northern Italy for several years, and the monks also studied astronomy, mathematics and physics. The Fabbrica Ducale dei Tabacchi began operations in 1805 and closed in 1891; from 1900 the buildings held Emilia-Romagna's only reformatory.