of Monte Cassino from the Polish War Cemetery.
The First World War did not much affect the peace of the monastery. On the contrary, thanks to the presence of the diocesan seminary and lay college at Montecassino there was remarkable human, spiritual and cultural wealth. More ruinous, instead, were the consequences of the Second World July 1943, Allied Forces landed in Sicily and started to move towards Rome. German resistance settled along the Gustav Line, which went through Cassino. This predicament made the events of war involve more the monastic walls. In October 1943, most precious goods had been secreted from Montecassino under the direction of German army officers, Lt. Colonel Julius Schlegel and Captain Maximilian J. Becker. Relics, archive’s codes and parchments, the huge library and the priceless paintings were all safely transported from the mountain top. Facing aggressive German resistance, the Allies closed in on Cassino. The town and the abbey looming above it quickly found themselves integral to the strategic German defence positions. On February 15, 1944 at 9:45 am. Allied aircraft began to bomb the venerable monastery. The bombardment lasted until 3:45 pm., leaving the ancient Abbey nothing more than a ruin. It was thanks only to good providence, that the abbot, Gregorio Diamare, and a few monks were themselves saved from death amid the tragic destruction.
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Photo credit: © lugris / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: abbey, cassino, cemetery, italy, lazio, lugris2, montecassino, pilgrimages, polish, religion, war
