Overview
In 529, San Benedetto founded the Monastery of Montecassino on the site of an ancient walled city, of which some signs of the "cyclopean" walls still remain. This place suffered various damages over the centuries until the tragic event of the Second World War. In 1980, the Museum was founded, filled with priceless artefacts that testify to the history of this place through the centuries. Inside its fourteen exhibition rooms are many items, including: archaeological materials from the Bronze and Iron Ages, architectural fragments from the Medieval Monastery, numerous interior furnishings that decorated the reception rooms, liturgical furnishings from the Basilica, illuminated manuscripts and books from the Archive and Library, as well as gifts offered by noblemen and donors who wished to contribute to the reconstruction of the Abbey in the post-war period. Also of interest are some proto-historical artefacts discovered by Monk Angelo Pantoni in the surroundings of Montecassino, a plate with gold enamelling from the 8th-9th century, a Longobard cross in gold filigree, an ivory casket of Norman art, illuminated manuscripts depicting one of the most excellent expressions of the Cassinese tradition, the Madonna of the Cintola between Sant'Alessandro and San Benedetto, a painting by Brescianino.
