Monte Cassino

The first Benedictine monastery, founded by Saint Benedict himself.

The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient Roman town of Casinum, it is the first house of the Benedictine Order, established by Benedict of Nursia around 529. It was for this community that the Rule of Saint Benedict was composed.

Quick Facts

Game

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

Release year

2002

Historical setting

Italian Campaign, 1944

Player unit

1st Infantry Division (U.S. Army)

Location

Monte Cassino, Lazio, Italy

Terrain type

Hilltop monastery
trenches
rocky slopes

Lore & Background

The first monastery was sacked by Lombards around 577 and abandoned. A second monastery was established by Petronax of Brescia around 718, at the suggestion of Pope Gregory II and with the support of Duke Romuald II of Benevento. It was sacked by Saracens in 883 and abandoned again; the community resided at Teano and then Capua before rebuilding in 949. The 11th and 12th centuries were the golden age, when the abbey acquired the Terra Sancti Benedicti and maintained good relations with the Eastern Church. Three popes came from the abbey: Stephen IX, Victor III, and Gelasius II. Decline set in by the 13th century. In 1799 it was sacked by French troops. The abbey was dissolved by the Italian government in 1866 and became a national monument. In 1944, during World War II, it was destroyed by Allied bombing and later rebuilt. After the Second Vatican Council it remained a territorial abbey. In 2014, Pope Francis removed most parishes from its jurisdiction. As of 2015, the monastic community consisted of 13 monks.