Monte Cassino Abbey

The territorial abbey of Monte Cassino was founded by Benedict of Nursia in 529 on the site of an ancient temple dedicated to Apollo. It is the cradle of the Benedictine order. It served as a retreat for sovereigns and pontiffs such as the Frankish prince Carloman, brother of Pepin the Short, the Lombard king Ratchis, and Saint Gregory. Containing immense riches, including a precious library, it is partly placed under the protection of Rome, with a gallery of precious paintings. Throughout the Middle Ages, the abbey was a lively cultural centre thanks to its abbots, libraries, archives, writing and illumination schools, which transcribed and preserved many works of antiquity. The abbey was destroyed during the Second World War and was rebuilt identically from 1948 to 1956.

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Co-cathedral of Aquino

The co-cathedral of Aquino dates back to the 11th century but during the bombing of the city in 1944 the cathedral was seriously and irreparably damaged. Thus, the present building is a post-war construction. The church was the cathedral of the diocese of Aquino until 30 September 1986, when it became the co-cathedral of the diocese of Sora-Cassino-Aquino-Pontecorvo.

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Venafro Cathedral

The cathedral of Venafro was rebuilt in the second half of the 11th century by Bishop Pietro of Ravenna. The building also experienced a tumultuous life: it was stripped of all its possessions by the troops of Frederick II (1220-1250), was damaged by earthquakes in 1349 and 1456, was burnt down on the orders of Emperor Ludwig and had to accommodate the troops of Charles VIII in 1495. Between the end of the 17th century and throughout the 18th century, the church was embellished in the Baroque style. However, its present appearance is the result of restoration work carried out in the 1960s and 1970s, which stripped the co-cathedral of its old Baroque forms and returned it to its previous medieval-Gothic appearance.

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Abbazia di San Domenico

The monastery of San Domenico has been a Benedictine abbey since 1011, and a Cistercian priory since 1222. Monastic life ceased in 1653, but the monastery was repopulated by the Casamari in 1833 and still exists today. The monastery's church has been a parish church since 1935 and has held the title of minor basilica since the celebration of the millennium in 2011. The Cistercian character of the church has been preserved despite the damage caused by earthquakes.