Italian Notes
  • HOME
  • PEOPLE & PLACES
    • Abruzzo
    • Basilicata
    • Calabria
    • Campania
    • Emilia-Romagna
    • Friuli-Venezia Giulia
    • Lazio
    • Liguria
    • Lombardia-Lombardy
    • Marche
    • Molise
    • Piemonte-Piedmont
    • Puglia – Apulia
    • Sicilia
    • Toscana-Tuscany
    • Trentino-Alto Adige – Trentino-South Tyrol
    • Umbria
    • Veneto
  • FOOD
    • Antipasti
    • Primi piatti
    • Secondi piatti
    • Dolci
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

How the Abbey of Monte Cassino turned into a war memorial

You are here: Home1 / Lazio2 / Frosinone3 / How the Abbey of Monte Cassino turned into a war memorial

How the

Abbey of Monte Cassino

Turned into a War Memorial

The Abbey of Monte Cassino used to be one of the most important western monasteries. Now it is known as the site for a highly controversial battle during World War II.



Booking.com


Driving from Naples in Campania to Rome in Lazio you can’t help noticing a massive building perched on a hilltop overlooking the plain stretching out towards the sea. Even from a distance the size of the building seems monstrously big and dominating. And it is evident that from that position no one can pass along the only road going through the mountains without being seen.

A Seat of Learning and Art

The Abbey of Monte Cassino was founded by the wandering Saint Benedict in 529 on a site that had formerly held a temple to Apollo. The site was sacred from the onset and over the centuries the abbey grew to become one of the largest and most important monasteries in the Western world. A seat of art and learning with an invaluable archive of handwritten texts and documents.

Various images from the Abbey of Monte Cassino

Various pics from the Abbey of Monte Cassino

This was also the situation in 1943 when the Allied forces landed at Salerno, conquered Naples and started pushing north towards Rome. Their troops’ progress was not as fast as presumed, and they suspected that the Germans used the Abbey of Monte Cassino as part of the defensive line that spanned Italy from coast to coast going through Isernia to Ortona on the Adriatic.

The First Series of Bombings

Therefore the Allied started bombing the area around the abbey, destroying much of the town Cassino with 25,000 inhabitants at the foot of the mountain. The first series of bombings made local people seek refuge at the abbey, where 55 resident monks suddenly found themselves in the company large families living in improvised shelter in the arched passageways of three great cloisters. The monks were self-sufficient, living off the work of tenant farmers on the extensive lands belonging to the monastery, but with the refugees it was far beyond the abbey’s food supply.

Image of the courtyard of the Abbey of Monte Cassino

The courtyard of the renovated Abbey of Monte Cassino

The Abbey of Monte Cassino Becomes a Target

As the bombings of the surrounding valleys did not have the required effect, the Allies presumed that Germans were occupying the monastery and sanctioned a bombing. On 15 February 1944 a total of 1,400 tons of bombs were dropped, killing 230 Italian civilian refugees and leaving the abbey in ruins. In the following days German paratroopers moved into the ruins of the monastery and used it for cover until the German defense line was finally broken 3 months later.

After the war the Abbey of Monte Cassino was rebuilt, and fortunately some Germans had removed most of the treasures to the Vatican before the bombing. But it seems appropriate that the first thing you see when you approach the abbey after a series of hairpin turns is a large door with the inscription ‘PAX’ in capital letters. And inside the abbey there is a huge Madonna figure with a golden dove in her hand.

Can’t help wondering where this harbinger of peace was 70 years ago.

Other places to visit near the Abbey of Monte Cassino

Isola del Liri – A town with two waterfalls

Naples

Italy’s Tivoli Gardens

The floating island in lake Posta Fibreno

The Reggia di Caserta

This post was last updated in March 2017

17 replies
  1. Muza-chan
    Muza-chan says:
    March 10, 2014 at 8:16 am

    I wish to visit someday…

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      March 16, 2014 at 6:12 pm

      It is a place worth listing.

      Reply
  2. Sophie
    Sophie says:
    March 10, 2014 at 3:47 pm

    Looks imposing – and, I’m guessing, a little spooky after dark…?

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      March 16, 2014 at 6:13 pm

      Could be – haven’t tried an after dark tour yet:)

      Reply
    • Phil Davis
      Phil Davis says:
      October 3, 2019 at 9:13 am

      the abbey as far as I know / remember is still occupied by monks

      Reply
      • Mette
        Mette says:
        October 8, 2019 at 6:50 pm

        I’m sure there are monk there still too. Sorry, if I haven’t made that clear.

        Reply
  3. Mike
    Mike says:
    March 11, 2014 at 8:22 am

    It’s soooo beautiful, Mette! I’ve studied WWII (specifically the European Theater) a lot of my adult life. I am by NO means even an expert on it! I do remember Salerno though as it was once mentioned in a piece as one of the Allied “mistakes”. Of course, there were thousands of them in the war. I’m with you on wishing to have seen it 70 years ago prior to the bombing. I really liked this post and thank you! :)

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      March 16, 2014 at 6:14 pm

      Thanks a lot Mike. Your enthusiasm is catching:)

      Reply
  4. Mary @ Green Global Travel
    Mary @ Green Global Travel says:
    March 17, 2014 at 3:01 am

    Looks like a very beautiful place. I agree with the other comment that is would seem creepy after dark! lol. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      March 22, 2014 at 12:05 pm

      A lot of places do – especially grand buildings and wild forests:)

      Reply
  5. memographer
    memographer says:
    May 10, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    Interesting story and great photos, Mette. Gotta visit the Abbey of Monte Cassino one day. So much to see, so little vacation.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      May 12, 2014 at 6:24 pm

      Yes, let’s make the vacation permanent.

      Reply
  6. Dominique, o.s.b.
    Dominique, o.s.b. says:
    July 9, 2014 at 3:11 pm

    Imagine these monasteries in their hay days which housed
    Three, four and five hundred monks.
    Much like our Motherhouse in Brugge, Belgium these huge
    Cloister walls and gardens. Much like Cassino, Sant Andre
    Abbey housed three and four hundred monks. Presently sadly
    Enough you will find perhaps twenty to twenty five senior monks with no signs of young vocations. Sections need to be closed off or used to house students if they run boarding schools just for the sake of the economy. It is sad. But they remain places of silence and serene memories of a once healthy monastic life.
    PAX
    Dominique

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      July 29, 2014 at 6:01 pm

      Good point. Some of the monasteries we have visited only have a handful monks left. All born before WWII.

      Reply
  7. Turkey's For Life
    Turkey's For Life says:
    January 28, 2016 at 9:54 pm

    How did I miss this post?? :) Love this area of Italy – just because it’s the place where we always stay and the area where our friend’s family is from. Lovely to see pics of it all on a blog – loved the drive up to the monastery but you can see why the battle was so intense can’t you. :(
    Julia

    Reply
    • Mette Vaabengaard
      Mette Vaabengaard says:
      January 31, 2016 at 2:01 pm

      There is certainly a lot to explore in this part of Italy – even if you disregard the attractions of Roma and Naples.

      Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Peace and war around the Abbey of Monte Cassino... says:
    March 9, 2014 at 9:32 pm

    […] How the Abbey of Monte Cassino, one of the most important western monasteries, became the site for one of the most controversial battles of World War II. […]  […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Followon XSubscribeto RSS Feed
Discover Rome - Italian Notes

Discover Rome

Discover Florence - Italian Notes

Discover Florence

Discover Venice - Italian Notes

Discover Venice

Discover Puglia - Italian Notes

Discover Puglia

Discover Sicily - Italian Notes

Discover Sicily

Discover Piedmont - Italian Notes

Discover Piedmont

© Copyright - Italian Notes - Enfold Theme by Kriesi
Black beluga lentil saladGreen sauce for meat and vegetablesGreen sauce for meat and vegetables
Scroll to top