"Abbey Of Montecassino - History &... " a Cassino Travel Page by Mikebb

We were travelling from Naples to Rome on the last day of our coach tour of Italy and our last stop was Cassino to view the Abbey. All I knew about Cassino was the movie of the allies attack on the hill and in fact the Abbey we were going to visit was the German stronghold commanding the valley below.
The road up the very steep hill was very winding with a steep drop over the side, it had been built many centuries ago by the monks so they could bring materials to the hilltop to build their beautiful abbey.

This photo from the abbey reveals the strategic position the abbey holds overlooking the valley below, and with the steep hill restricting easy access the monks would always have advanced knowledge of what was happening around them.There was no natural water supply on the hill top and the monks had to haul up most of their water.

The Abbey was completely destroyed during the battles in 1944 but has been superbly rebuilt and blessed by the Pope in 1964. It is well worth the time to visit the Abbey which is a substantial complex of buildings, the church is magnificently decorated. In grounds outside the Abbey is the Polish War Cemetery where a thousand soldiers are buried. Our guide told us of the 4 month struggle to take the Abbey and when near the hilltop the Allies commander gave the Poles the honour of taking the Abbey the next morning. One thousand Polish men were lost.