Visiting the Latium region is not only visiting Rome: you can travel few kilometers and find magnificent landscapes or architectural complex to go through the history of this region.
Pozzo d’Antullo
Pozzo d’Antullo is a sinkhole, or karstic cavity, due to the collapse of a cave. It is unclear when it was formed, but until a few years ago, it was used as a pasture area for sheep, which were lowered into the cavity and left there for a few months. Two legends revolve around the location: the first one says that this place was a yard where the farmers would beat corn grains, even during the Feast of the Assumption. To punish them, the land was submerged into the ground. The second legend says that an evil man, Antunello, lived on this land and was punished by the earth for his actions.
Casamari Abbey
Casamari is a Cistercian Abbey dating from 1200, and elevated in 1957 to a minor Basilica. It owes its name to the famous Roman leader Caio Mario, Sulla’s adversary during the civil war of 88 BC. It is located on the site of an ancient Roman town dedicated to the goddess Ceres, and was transformed into an Abbey by Benedictine monks. Here, the monks perform many activities and you can still visit the pharmacy, liquoreria, the library with over 50,000 volumes, the laboratory for the restoration of books, typography and the archaeological museum.
Abbey of Montecassino
Founded in 529 by St. Benedict of Norcia, the Abbey of Montecassino is one of the most important places of worship in the world. Although it is built on the spur of a rock, it has been repeatedly plundered and destroyed. The last time was on February 18th, 1944, when it was bombed and burned completely to the ground. Faithfully reconstructed after the war, today it is possible to visit the lodge, the cloister of Benefactors, the Basilica, the crypt and the Bramante cloister, where we find the only statue which survived the bombing: that of St. Benedict.
Castle Longhi De-Padilla
The fortress in the town of Fumone, also called Castle Longhi De-Padilla, offers visitors the chance to combine a bit of history with one of the most beautiful sights in Ciociaria. In fact, this castle is well-known for being the prison of Pope Celestine V, the hermit Pope, as well as being the place of Europe’s highest roof garden, from where you could once see on the horizon the dome of St Peter’s and the Vesuvius.