Gran Sasso crossing, a famous abbey and back to the Med

Monday 18th, September

Tunnels and bends make for interesting driving in the national park.

Leaving L'Aquila behind we crossed the Gran Sasso national park along a twisty provincial road. The scenery was stunning: high mountains on all sides with their slopes covered with lush green deciduous trees and frequent waterfalls tumbling down. And above, the occasional eagle circling above us - in search of prey, presumably. After three or four hours of this wonderful driving we dropped down towards Cassino on our way to visit the famous abbey there. Curiously we found ourselves in a long convoy of cars dawdling through some fairly remote countryside. This was unusual because Italian drivers never dawdle. After about 15 miles of this rather slow (and frustrating) progress we discovered that we were at the back of a funeral cortege!  However,   eventually we did arrive at Monte Cassino.

The impressive monastery of Monte Cassino.

For those who don't know it, the monastery is at the top of a mountain overlooking the town. It's a four mile zig-zag climb to reach the entrance. The monastery is a Benedictine foundation and was founded by St Benedict himself in the sixth century (indeed the tomb of the founder lies in the crypt). It has been invaded and partly destroyed several times over the centuries. In particular, the monastery played a key defensive role in delaying the allied invasion of Italy in 1944. Installed in the abbey, The German army held the Allies at bay for several months and many soldiers on both sides lost their lives (especially Poles - there is a polish cemetery here). At the end of the action the monastery was almost totally destroyed. After the war is was rebuilt and today is a remarkable building.

The monastery is designed around a series of square-shaped cloisters with peripheral arches.

Today the abbey is open to visitors as a sacred site and is dedicated to the theme of peace; hardly surprising given its recent history. There are various pointers to this theme, the highlight which is a beautifully decorated peace chapel in the crypt that appeared to encourage visitors to pause and reflect in silence. An impressive place.