Places of worship

Abbey of Montecassino in Cassino

The centre for Benedictine devotion in the world

The final stop along the Benedictine Way brings to an end not just a geographical itinerary of discovery but also a journey that began in Norcia through the human and spiritual story of St. Benedict, the founding father of western monasticism.

Benedict arrived in the ancient Roman city of Casinum around 529, where he remained until his death in 547. On the peak of Montecassino the saint and his followers built a small oratory dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Between these walls, Benedict was to develop his monastic project and define his own original ideas, which formed the basis of his Sancta Regula.

Today the Abbey of Montecassino rises up in the same place, as the epicentre of Benedictine devotion for the world and a national monument since 1866. From its beginnings to the present day, the abbey has been destroyed a number of times by earthquakes and human brutality, but has been rebuilt as many times thanks to the tenacity of worshippers and the Benedictine monks themselves. The abbey today is a perfect reconstruction of how it was before the bombardments of World War II razed it to the ground.

Throughout the Middle Ages, up to the year 1300, the years of maximum splendour and activity for the abbey, the Cassinese monks practised medicine, music, and philosophical science and translated ancient works from the original Latin and Greek.

Guided tour

After following the twisting roads to the top of Montecassino, visitors reach the wide square in front of the Abbey. Inside the buildings there are grand cloisters from the Renaissance, looking out over the valleys of the Rivers Liri and Gari, which flow together just near Cassino. The cloisters lead through to the Church, with its three large doors: two lateral doors, designed by Canonica in 1952, and a central entrance, the original door, which dates back to the XI century and is decorated with engravings of jewelled letters showing all the lands possessed by the Abbey. Inside the Church, highlights include precious multicoloured marble, gilded  stuccowork, paintings and frescoes. The enchanting crypt under the altar houses the remains of St. Benedict and his sister Scholastica. A visit to the Abbey’s Museum underlines the important cultural role of this place in the history of Europe. The museum also houses precious illuminated manuscripts, literary texts and documents such as the "placito cassinese", one of the most ancient documents in Italian vernacular.