History of Cassino

The inhabitants of Cassino and the surrounding towns saw much devastation during World War II. Most of them had to flee their homes and evacuate as far down as Calabria. There are still a few people alive today who remember the terror of being shot or shot at, being a long way away from their homes, coming back to piles of ruin and rubble, and having to rebuild their homes from scratch with practically nothing.

My family lived less than half a mile from the front. When they evacuated they took as many of their possessions as they could carry by hand, which wasn't much. My paternal grandmother had my father, who was about nine years old, and another baby who was two years old.

Just before they evacuated, some German soldiers came to the house and started taking their food. At that time, they had what they called a "larder" where they stored their sausages and other dried or cured pork such as prosciutto, capocollo, and pancetta. My grandmother tried her best to communicate to the soldiers that she had children to feed; could they please leave her some food? One of the soldiers promptly held his gun to the baby's head. Horrified, Grandma picked up the baby and ran out of the room as fast as she could.

If I've piqued your interest about the hystory of this area and it's many beautiful sorrounding towns you can find more information at www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassino,_Italy.

The Monastery

Many people who are interested in history have learned about Cassino because of the battle in World War II when both the city and the monastery on Monte Cassino were destroyed. The monastery was built in 529 AD by a monk named Benedetto Da Norcia. It was destroyed to the ground, and was later rebuilt four times. The view of the city from the monastery is extraordinary. The monks cultivate the land around the place, producing their own wines and foods. Their traditional motto is "Ora et Labora," or "Pray and Work."

Other Historic Landmarks

Cassino had a Coliseum built in the first century after Christ; some remains are still there today. In the same area is the archaeological zone where, among other artifacts, a short section of the old road called Appia still exists. It once connected Campania to one of the Roman doors. Farther up the hill is an outdoor theater built in the shape of a perfect semicircle. Unfortunately, within the last thirty or forty years, residential homes were built very close to it. Slightly lower than Monte Cassino is the hill called Janula, with its still-visible remains of a fortress that was built in the tenth century for the purpose of protecting both, the monastery and the city that lies below. My favorite archaeological point is the park called Le Terme Varroniane that originally spread over three small hills. In the last century however, the tops of the hills and part of the archaeological structures were destroyed to make room for the railroad. The remainder of this place is still filled with hundreds of natural springs that are considered therapeutic and the remaining structures are still well preserved.

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