As the rule of order dictated, the choice of the site on which to erect the Charterhouse fell on a place far from the town center.

This isolation was short-lived, however: already a few decades later, with the completion of the Herculean Addition, the complex was enclosed within the circle of walls, but it took on even greater prestige. The new centrality was soon underscored by the present large Latin cross church with a single nave and six side chapels, which still constitutes one of the most original works of the Ferrara Renaissance, attributable to Biagio Rossetti.

The size of this room gives a measure of the wealth of the Carthusian order, which over the centuries enriched the monastery and church with important works of art. Prominent among these are the side altars, the work of Nicolò Roselli and Ercole Aviati, and the altarpieces in the transepts made by Bastianino and his workshop. At the end of the 18th century, following the Napoleonic suppressions, the monks lost ownership of both the temple and the monastery, which, after various vicissitudes, was acquired by the Municipality of Ferrara and turned into a public cemetery. With its reopening for worship in 1813, after major transformations and restoration, the church was also used as a place to preserve works from suppressed oratories and confraternities, which now adorn the walls of the side chapels.

World War II inflicted very serious wounds: in the summer of 1944 a bombing partially destroyed the apse, the choir, the right side of the church and the bell tower. During the postwar period and the following decades, several various maintenance works followed, interrupted by new damage inflicted by the 2012 earthquake. A massive restoration campaign has allowed St. Christopher’s to regain alongside its original sacred function its important cultural role as one of the most significant and valuable monuments of the local historical and artistic heritage.