Montecassino

One of the epicentres of European Christianity rises on a green hill among the Frosinone mountains overlooking a magnificent landscape: the Abbey of Montecassino, founded by Saint Benedict in the early decades of the 6th century as a beacon of faith and civilisation in the midst of violent barbarian invasions. At the start of the 16th century, the architectural structure of the abbey remained largely unchanged compared to the 14th century. Shortly afterwards, the abbey would begin to take on the Renaissance aspects which – with the exception of the Baroque reconstruction of the church – would remain unchanged until World War II. Destroyed and reborn, in these pages the abbey shows off the many glories that have survived to tell the story of the religious community that one inhabited Italy’s oldest monastery.