Monastery at Montecassino

Preceding the famous San Francesco of Assisi, there was San Benedetto, founder of the Benedictine order of monks. The Monastery of Montecassino became the mother church of the order. It was here where the Saint drew up the guidelines that the order follows. By the 11th century the monks of the Benedictine order became skilled artisans. They created a series of frescoes and mosaics that influenced the religion surrounding areas.

Monastery interior - mosaic

Since then the Abbey has seen tough times. It was destroyed many times; the most damaging was in 1944 in the Battle of Cassino. The Germans made Cassino a major military site in order to protect Rome. On May 17 the Allied forces launched an attack on the city destroying the it and the Abbey. Since then it has been rebuilt according to its original plans.

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