The Abbey of Montecassino – a tale of survival and renewal

  MONTECASSINO -- The Benedictine Abbey of Montecassino, perched on a clifftop 2000 m above sea level, is a distinctive landmark viewed from the motorway at the Lazio-Campania regional border on the way to Naples. At first glance it seems impossible that a small group of penniless monks were able to galvanize workmen to help them build this monumental building.

  The founder, however, St. Benedict of Nursia (the modern Norcia in Umbria) was a forceful character who had survived poisoning attempts by jealous monks at the town of Subiaco, near Rome, where he had founded the abbey now known as St, Scholastics, as well as 12 small religious communities in the nearby valley, followed by three years in a cave as a solitary hermit, and he rose to the challenge. Luckily, there was essential material to hand that they were able to use. The Romans, who also liked to have their holy places in elevated and  commanding positions, had built a temple to the Sun God Apollo on the spot. Benedict lost no time in destroying the temple and cutting down the surrounding grove of trees (dedicated to “devil worship”, according to Pope Gregory 1, who wrote a biography of Benedict). Much of the material from the Temple and the surrounding Roman  Acropolis of Casinum was used to build the first version of what was to become  the biggest monastic house in the Christian world.

The story of the tragic destruction of the Abbey during the last War is well known but this was not the only time it had been destroyed and rebuilt. First founded in 529 AD, it was razed to the ground by the Lombards in 583, the Saracens destroyed it in 883, in the 12^th century the Normans turned it into a garrison and in 1349 it was toppled by an earthquake. During Napoleon's Italian campaign in 1799 it was plundered by the French. Every time, it has been rebuilt.

A modern road winds up the mountainside that devout and dedicated pilgrims still toil up on foot to the present Abbey dominating the peak. Immediately inside, the cloistered garden contains the statue of St. Benedict being held upright by two disciples in what was apparently his customary stance when praying. This leads directly into the vast courtyard flanked by columns recovered from the old Roman acropolis, and the sweeping stone stairway leading up to the Abbey basilica and the museum. Statues of Benedict and his twin sister, St. Scholastica,  stand at the bottom of the steps. These were salvaged after the bombing in 1944 and restored. Scholastica holds a dove, symbolizing the white dove which, according to tradition, appeared to her brother announcing her death at the  nunnery she had founded at Plombariola some 5 kms distant from Montecassino. Brother and sister died within days of each other in March 547 and were buried in the same tomb under the main altar. Scholastica is often overlooked, overshadowed by her celebrated brother, but two months ago, in February, the Abbey paid her a special four-day tribute, focussing on the importance of her role and that of women in general in the history of the  Christian Church. Scholastica is credited

with founding the model for female monastic communities and the feminine branch of the Benedictines.

A guided tour of the basement takes visitors down to the commemorative chapel where Benedict drew up the 73 chapters of instructions in his celebrated Rule governing the Benedictine Order, generally loosely referred to as “Ora et Labor” (Pray and Work). However, according to literary sources, Benedict did not actually invent the adage. In his Rule he simply emphasizes his belief  that “idleness is the enemy of the soul.” Throughout the Dark Ages, the Benedictine monasteries were not only centres of spirituality and learning but served also as hospitals, soup kitchens and schools, supplying essential sustenance for pilgrims, travellers and the poor.

In 1964, Pope Paul VI declared Benedict a “Patron Saint of Europe” for his “foundation role  in shaping European culture and unity after the fall of the Roman Empire.”

The Abbey church dazzles in Baroque glory, in contrast with the severe marble entrance courtyard and it is tempting to wonder what the austere monk Benedict would have made of the glittering multi-coloured mosaics, the arches decorated with coronets of golden rosettes, the gilded cherubs lining the altar rail and the multi-coloured intarsia pavement created in his honour?

The Abbey will be celebrating the 1500 anniversary of its foundation in 2029, but it is already preparing for the event. At the beginning of this year it instituted the Peace Prize “Pacis Nuntius” (Messenger of Peace) which was awarded to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattisto Pizzaballa for his role in promoting inter-religion relationships. The award ceremony is programmed for the coming 10 June, when the Cardinal is expected to visit Rome.

Meanwhile, the Abbey Museum has been revamped with updated displays of its treasures  and with a new room documenting the Allied bombardments in 1944. By order of the German command the contents of the Abbey museum, library and archives had been transferred to safe keeping in the Vatican some days before the impending attack was launched, so visitors today can still admire the original collection of priceless ivories, jewelled goblets, ritual vestments, illuminated manuscripts, irreplaceable documents, books and paintings, including a tondo attributed to Sandro Botticelli.

It is now known that the destruction of the Abbey could have been avoided. An error of communication convinced the Allied forces that the monastery was occupied by enemy troops and its eagle-nest position overlooking the entire surrounding valley gave it ideal strategic status. But, in fact, the Germans were not inside the building but installed instead in caves and rock formations on the hillside. Inside the Abbey itself there were only a few monks and local Italian civilians who had taken refuse in what was believed to be a place of safety. Few survived. During the first attack on the 15^th February 1944, 142 Allied bombers dropped some 287 tons of explosives (some sources put the total at 250 bombers discharging 600 tons of bombs) on the Abbey, which was razed to the ground. The only survivors were the elderly Abbot Gregorio Diamare, who had refused to leave, five monks who insisted on staying with him and a handful of refugees who had all taken shelter  in the crypt near the saint's tomb.  The crypt remained intact, partly thanks to the solidity of the Roman temple foundations and partly because a bomb that landed on the crypt steps miraculously failed to explode, sparing also the sainted siblings earthly remains.

Although the Abbey no longer existed, hard fighting went on until May with great loss of life on both sides until finally the Allies broke through, opening the way forward towards Rome. Tour guides at the Abbey point out the stairway and the secondary door by which the little group of survivors exited, headed by the old Abbot reciting the rosary, when the fighting was over.

The present Abbey is a faithful reconstruction of the former monumental building. The Italian government supported the cost of reconstruction, which took over ten years to complete before the reconsecration of the basilica in 1964. The Abbey was already an Italian National Monument and great care was given to reproducing every detail and preserving its unique history and dentity.