Abbazia di Montecassino

History

Destroyed and reconstructed on several occasions, the monastery was first invaded in 580, rebuilt around 718 before the Saracens destroyed the abbey for a second time in 883, rebuilt by Pope Agapito II in 949.

Destroyed by an earthquake in 1349 and rebuilt again in 1366 , the abbey was constructed as a Neapolitan Baroque monument in the 17th Century, before being bombed and razed to the ground in World War II as part of the battle of Cassino.

Fully restored by 1956 as an exact replica the Abbey has become a major cultural icon across Europe, visited by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.