Abbey of Monte Cassino, Benedictine abbey in Cassino, Italy
The Abbey of Monte Cassino is a Benedictine complex on a hilltop above Cassino in central Italy. Rebuilt after World War Two in the Neapolitan baroque manner, the site contains a tall three-nave basilica, several cloisters, a museum and a refectory.
Benedict of Nursia founded the community in 529 on the site of a former temple to Apollo. The entire structure was rebuilt between 1944 and 1949 after Allied bombing destroyed it, following the 17th-century baroque layout.
Visitors enter the basilica through a bronze doorway and find themselves in a space marked by Byzantine-style mosaics and marble surfaces. The crypt beneath the main altar houses the relics of Saint Benedict and his sister Scholastica, two central figures in Benedictine monasticism.
Access to the complex is by a winding road that climbs to the summit, with several viewpoints along the route overlooking the valley below. The main areas including the basilica and museum are accessible for wheelchairs.
A bridge connects the abbey entrance level to the parking area below, spanning a ravine with open views of the surrounding countryside. The crypt contains a Polish chapel commemorating soldiers who fell during the 1944 battle.
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