MONTECASSINO private tour: magnificent Abbey and stunning view

The guided tour of the Abbey of Montecassino not far from Rome will be a journey to a sacred place where in 529 St. Benedict founded the monastery and the Benedictine order, but also a jewel of works of art and architecture where you can marvel at the beauty of which you are surrounded. We start immediately by discovering the entrance cloister erected on the Temple of Apollo and used by Saint Benedict for praying with the monks, with the bronze statue representing the death of the Saint in the center and in which to admire the mosaic of Christ between Madonna and San Martino.

From here we arrive in the beautiful Cloister of Bramante designed by Bramante at the end of the 16th century, a Renaissance courtyard with a cistern with two Corinthian columns in the center and the statues of St. Benedict and his sister St. Scholastica; splendid is the loggia, also known as the Loggia del Paradiso, where you can admire a magnificent view of the Valle dei Liri and the nearby mountains and below the Polish military cemetery where the over 1500 Polish soldiers who died during the Second World War in the battle of Cassino rest.

From this cloister the stairway starts up to the Church dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta and San Benedetto, with rich decorations in gold and marble with wonderful frescoes and mosaics and the tombs with the remains of San Benedetto and his sister Santa Scolastica behind the High Altar. We also visit the suggestive crypt carved into the rock of the mountain in the 1500s and completely decorated with beautiful colored mosaics and two chapels dedicated to the favorite disciples of St. Benedict.

We continue the tour by exploring the last of the three cloisters, the Cloister of the Benefactors from the 1600s with 24 statues of Popes, Saints and Kings that made this abbey even more beautiful after the attacks and bombings over the years. We end our guided tour in the herbalist’s shop where you can buy cosmetics and other products made by the monks of the monastery following the ancient Benedictine recipes with the cultivation of medicinal herbs.

Included:

• Walking tour with licensed tour guide

Not included:

• Food and drinks
• Museum tickets (optional)
• Transfer service

What to bring:

• Comfortable shoes
• Water
• Sun hat on hot days

Meeting point:

• Abbazia di Montecassino entry ( Abbey entrance near the Abbey parking area )