Tag: WWII

The Abbey of Monte Cassino

The Abbey of Monte Cassino, Frosinone

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The Abbey of Monte Cassino, located on top of a very large hill in the town of Cassino in the province of Frosinone, was founded by St. Benedict in 528 AD and is home to his sacred relics, along with those of his sister, St. Scholastica. It is considered to be the birthplace of monasticism in Western Europe.

The abbey has been destroyed and rebuilt many times due to barbarian invasions and natural disasters, and was the site of a very important battle during WWII between Allied forces and German soldiers due to its strategic location. After being destroyed by the Allies during WWII, it was rebuilt and reconsecrated in 1964 by Pope Paul VI. Today it is a monastery and museum, and includes a large cemetery of Polish soldiers killed during WWII while trying to liberate Italy.

Monte Cassino Cemetary for Polish soldiers who died defending the abbey during WWII

Monte Cassino Cemetary for Polish soldiers who died defending the abbey during WWII

Monks living in the monastery live by two basic principles:  pray and work. All members of the monastery community have an important job to do. Their duties include receiving visitors, organizing events, maintaining the libraries and archives, binding books, growing herbs for their on-site pharmacy, and tending to its vineyard.

Monte Cassino Vineyard

Vineyard

Was the destruction of the Abbey during WWII due to an error in translation?

According to an account by Colonel David Hunt found in the book With Alex at War, the autobiography of Sir Rupert Clarke, the bombardment of the Abbey by the Allies was due to a misinterpretation of an intercepted radio message by a British junior officer. The officer mistook the word “abbot” for a similar word in German meaning “bombardment”. By the time Colonel Hunt realized this error, it was too late and the American forces bombed the mountain top, something that both sides had promised the pope they would never do, killing hundreds of refugees that were taking shelter there. Miraculously, the abbot and monks were saved.

Montecassino - WWII

Monte Cassino after being destroyed during WWII

Monte Cassino Abbey Today

The monks that live in the abbey live each day according to St. Benedict’s Rule, regulations and guidelines written by him in the 6th century, which describes every aspect of monastic life and encourages love, prayer, work, respect, chastity, moderation, and community. The monks are known as cenobites, living in a religious community, rather than in isolation, under a leader, the abbot.

The cathedral that stands here today is actually the 4th church to be built on this site. What little was left of the cathedral before it was destroyed during WWII can be found incorporated in the structure and in its museums.

Monte Cassino Courtyard with statue of St. Benedict receiving Holy Communion

Courtyard with statue of St. Benedict receiving Holy Communion

Monte Cassino Doorway of Peace (PAX)

Doorway of Peace (PAX)

Monte Cassino cloisters

Cloisters

One of the many chapels in the Abbey of Monte Cassino

One of the many chapels in the Abbey of Monte Cassino

View of Cassino from Monte Cassino

View of Cassino from Monte Cassino

Fresco of St. Benedict

Fresco of St. Benedict

Latin Text found in the Abbey of Monte Cassino

Latin Text

Latin Text found in the Abbey of Monte Cassino

Latin Text

If you plan to visit during the warmer months, please be advised that, as with all churches, basilicas, etc., you will not be allowed in wearing shorts or sleeveless shirts.

To purchase tickets online, go to Abbazia di Montecassino.

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Top photo credit: William Piccolino

The Caves (Grotte) of Pastena

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For many years, as I drove through the countryside of Ciociaria, I saw signs along the roads inviting tourists and curious people to see the caves of Pastena (le grotte di Pastena), so finally I decided to see what they were all about.

The grotte, or caves, of Pastena, located in a valley deep in the Ausoni mountains in the province of Frosinone, are a natural wonder not to be missed.

The caves are part of a karst system which was formed by deposits of carbonate of calcium (salt) about 100 million years ago under a shallow sea. It emerged from underwater due to tectonic movements about 2 million years ago, during the Pleistocene era, and continues to form.

Monte Fammera, part of the Aurunci mountains, in Selvacava

Monte Fammera

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Monte Fammera is a very distinctly shaped mountain which overlooks the municipalities of Ausonia and Spigno Saturnia. It is part of the Aurunci Mountains in the Apennine Mountain range.

I’ve heard many stories regarding this mountain during World War II from family members. There is a cave somewhere in this mountain where the residents of Selvacava and the surrounding towns used to hide in during WWII. Since the mountain is at a higher level than the towns, it was a good vantage point for spotting invading soldiers not only on the ground, but also from the Tyrrhenian Sea in the distance.

Selvacava, with its many olive groves, looking toward the Tyrrhenian Sea

Selvacava, with its many olive groves, looking toward the Tyrrhenian Sea

My father told of how Nazi soldiers tried to get him to fight with them and when he refused, he was shot in the leg while running to the mountain, and how they were so hungry while hiding out that they had to kill their donkey and eat it. In fact, I still have the horseshoe that my father saved.

My dad's donkey's horseshoe

My dad’s donkey’s horseshoe

My uncle also told me of how one day all the shooting and bombing had stopped. My great aunt decided to leave the cave to see why there was a great silence and when she peered over a small hill, she found herself with a submachine gun pointed at her face! It turned out that the war had ended and the French were looking for Nazis and she had spooked them.

When I was little and lived in the Bronx, my father belonged to a club of  “paesans” from Selvacava. One time they had a Christmas party at the old Alex and Henry’s Catering Hall, where they usually had their parties, and hired this old guy as entertainment who told jokes and stories about WWII in Italy and did sound effects to go along with it. I remember feeling very uncomfortable watching the old Italians around me laughing at something I found so terrifying but then I realized that was how they dealt with what they had gone through, just like when I lived in Italy and my father and uncle would often break out their old record of war songs and play them. I didn’t know at the time that they were war songs until years later when I was watching the movie Moon Over Parador and heard one of the songs,  “Lili Marlen” in one of the scenes and I looked it up.

For travel arrangements, go to Travel and Tourism.

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