Montecassino Abbey - The Birthplace of Monasticism in Europe!

The Abbey of Montecassino is one of the most well known Abbeys in the world. The Abbey is perched high on the slope of the 1700 foot rocky hill known as Monte Cassino, about 80 miles southeast of Rome, Italy.
The immense fortress-like complex is ensconced in thick, lush forests which shroud its lower walls. Because of the periodic destructions the abbey has endured, very little remains of the original building. Most of the massive complex dates from its reconstruction in the years after World War II.
In 529 Saint Benedict chose this mountain to build a monastery that would host him and those monks following him on the way from Subiaco. Paganism was still present here, but he managed to turn the place into a well-structured Christian monastery where everybody could have the dignity they deserved through praying and working.
The Abbey has met destruction many times, and has always come out of its ruins stronger. In 577 the Lombards destroyed it, then Saracens in 887. In 1349 a violent earthquake occurred and in February 1944, an Allied bombing almost flatted it. The Allies had gotten incorrect information that the Germans were occupying the abbey, which turned out to not be true.
The Abbey was rebuilt after the war, and today can be seen from afar, making it a distinct landmark of the region.
#montecassino #benedictine