7:00 – 8:00 – 9:00 – 10:00 am
airports, railway station, ports and hotels all through Italy.
approximately 8 hours
Tip
If you decide to travel to Lazio, you should definitely visit this majestic building around the city of Frosinone. The construction of the Montecassino Abbey was an impressive undertaking that led to the creation of the second largest monastery in Italy.
This tour allows you to visit the entire site, starting with visiting the many different halls and rooms of the Abbey, including dining rooms, bedrooms, art galleries and much more, where you can take a look at the way of life of the Benedictine monks.
After visiting the interior of the Abbey, the tour will move to the nearby Military Graveyard, a touching visit to a place where more than a thousand bodies rest, including that of the British general Victor Mitchel, who died in London in 1970 but asked to be buried at Monte Cassino with his men according to his will.
We are sure you will be mesmerized by the beauty and majesty of this Palazzo, and at the end of your trip to Italy, this will surely be one of its highlights.
If you are traveling between Rome and Naples, the beautiful Montecassino Abbey is worth a visit. The Abbey of Montecassino , perched on the mountaintop above the town of Cassino, is an active monastery and pilgrimage site, but is open to visitors. Monte Cassino Abbey is famous as the scene of a huge and decisive battle towards the end of the Second World War, during which the abbey was almost completely destroyed. It was completely rebuilt after the war and is today a major destination for tourists, pilgrims and history buffs.
Monte Cassino Abbey was originally founded by St. Benedict in 529, making it one of the oldest monasteries in Europe. As was common in the early days of Christianity, the abbey was built on a pagan site, in this case on the ruins of a Roman temple of Apollo. The monastery became known as a center of culture, art and learning.
The Montecassino Abbey was destroyed by the Longobards around 577, rebuilt, and destroyed again in 833 by the Saracens. In the 10th century the monastery was reopened and filled with beautiful manuscripts, mosaics, and enamel and gold work. After being destroyed by an earthquake in 1349, it was rebuilt again with many additions.
During World War II, Allied armies invaded from the south and attempted to push north and force the Germans out of Italy. Due to its high vantage point, Monte Cassino was mistakenly believed to be a strategic hideout for German troops. As part of a months-long battle, in February 1944, the monastery was bombed by Allied aircraft and completely destroyed. It was only later that the Allies realized that the monastery had been used as a refuge for civilians, many of whom were killed in the bombing raids. The Battle of Monte Cassino was a turning point in the war, but at an incredibly high cost: in addition to the loss of the abbey itself, more than 55,000 Allied troops and more than 20,000 German troops lost their lives.
While the destruction of Monte Cassino Abbey remains a tragic loss to cultural heritage, most of its artifacts, including priceless illuminated manuscripts, had been moved to the Vatican in Rome for safekeeping during the war. The abbey has been carefully rebuilt following the original plan and its treasures restored. It was reopened by Pope VI in 1964. Today it is difficult to say that it has been destroyed and rebuilt four times.
The Monte Cassino War Cemetery is the burial place of thousands of British and Commonwealth soldiers who died during the Italian campaign in World War II. Also on the site is a memorial to those soldiers whose graves are not known.
The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle for Rome) was a costly series of four Allied assaults against the Winter Line in Italy held by Axis forces during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The intention was a turning point for Rome.
The Allies landed on the Italian mainland on 9 September 1943, coinciding with the surrender of the Italians who then returned to the war alongside the Allies. The Allied objectives were to withdraw German troops from the Russian front and more particularly from France, where the Normandy offensive was planned for the following year. The allies were to push north on two fronts.
On the Western Front, the US 5th Army moved north from Naples as the British 8th Army advanced along the Adriatic coast. The invasion progressed rapidly through southern Italy despite stiff resistance, but, by the end of October, the Allies were confronted with the German winter defensive position known as the Gustav Line, which stretched from the Garigiliano and Rapido rivers in the west and on Sangro river on the eastern side of the Italian peninsula.
On the eastern sector of Ortona and Orsagna, the Canadians and New Zealanders suffered terrible losses and the line was stopped in December 1943. On the western side of the Gustav Line, the German army decided to hold its position at the town of Cassino, opposite the Monastery. Then, four battles for Monte Cassino raged from January 12, 1944 until the final occupation on May 18, 1944. The US 5th Army Quartermaster had assembled 600,000 shells for the operation.
The Allied commanders proposed to begin the engagement by breaking through the German front at the foot of Monte Cassino with the largest concentration of artillery and air power ever employed in the Italian campaign.
Today, the Monte Cassino War Cemetery and Memorial remembers the British servicemen who died in this costly battle.
