Museo dell'Abbazia di Montecassino

The monastery of Montecassino, founded by Saint Benedict in 529 on the site of the acropolis of an antique settlement of which traces of the “Cyclopean” walls remain, was damaged many times over the centuries and, lastly, by the terrible event of the Second World War. The Museum, founded in 1980, is rich in precious testimonies of the place’s history over the centuries: the fourteen exhibition rooms contain archaeological findings of the bronze and iron age, architectural fragments from the mediaeval monastery, numerous internal furnishings that decorated representation rooms, liturgical furnishing from the basilica, illuminated manuscripts and books from the archive and library, and objects donated by noblemen and benefactors who wanted to contribute to the reconstruction of the Abbey in the post-war period. Worth noting: prehistoric materials discovered near Montecassino by the monk Angelo Pantoni; a plate with gold enamel (8th-9th century); a Longobard cross in gold filigree; a Norman ivory case; illuminated manuscripts representing the best of the Cassino tradition; the Madonna della cintola tra sant’Alessandro e san Benedetto panel by Brescianino.