The Abbey of Montecassino was founded by St Benedict around 529 AD on what remained of a Roman fortification.

The Abbey has been destroyed and rebuilt several times; The Longobards of Zotone destroyed the Abbey in 577 AD, Saracens invaded and destroyed the monastery by fire in 883, it was destroyed in 1349 by an earthquake and the most recent destruction was during the later stages of WWII when once again it was raised to the ground.

The destruction of the Abbey during the allied bombing in WWII left a few interesting artifacts still standing.

The statue of St Benedict that stands at the foot of the access staircase to the Abbey Church survived. The statue was sculpted in 1736 and bears the inscription “Benetictus qui venit in nomine Domini” (Blessed be he who came in the Name of the Lord). The sister statue of St Scolastica standing on the same steps was destroyed and what we see today is a copy of the original.

The high altar in the Abbey Church also survived intact after an anti-aircraft artillery shell lodged itself between two steps that lead up to the high altar without exploding and leaving the altar intact.

At the back of the high altar an inscription on black marble reads “St Benedict and St. Scolastica were never separated in the spirit during their life nor are their bodies separated in their death”. A bronze urn containing their earthly remains is located in this location, chosen by St Benedict for his sister Scolastica and for himself.