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The
Basilica of
Montecassino
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Access to the Basilica is provided by three bronze doors, the middle one
(right) dates from the eleventh century, when Desiderius was Abbot.
It consists of a set of panels with silver damask lettering. The
lower panel at the right, between two crosses, certifies that these door
wings were made in Constantinople in 1066 and were a gift from Mauro of Amalfi, son of
Pantaleone. The doors have a great historic value
because of the inscriptions which detail the possessions of the monastery
and the churches that depended on Montecassino in the eleventh and twelfth
centuries.
Below is the fresco which resides on the wall above the central portal
of the Basilica. It is titled The Glory of St. Benedict or
The Benedictine Paradise. In it you can see St. benedict surrounded
by monks, bishops and nuns who lived in holiness by following his rule.
These include three popes in the foreground: at the left is Gregory the
Great, St. Benedict's first biographer; in the middle is Pope Paul VI who
re-consecrated the Basilica in 1964 and proclaimed St. Benedict the main
Patron Saint of Europe and on the right is St. Victor III, Formerly Abbot
Desiderius - author of Montecassino's splendor in the 12th century. |
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On the left we can see the upper portion of the beautiful pipe organ built
by Neapolitan Mascioni di Cuvio. The organ has over 5000 pipes and three keyboards. It is beautifully detailed in the baroque style.
In the lower left corner is a picture of the gilded details at the base
of the dome above the altar. The spandrels show stories which represent
the vows taken by the monks: Chastity bearing a lamp, Stability
with an anchor and a column, Poverty leaning onto the Cross while
dropping money and Obedience standing in a listening position.
Below is a fragment of the original 11th century floor. It is one
of a pair of greyhounds that at one time flanked the altar. Today
this fragment can be seen in the Museum.
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<<
Back - Scenes from the
Monastery | Next
- Stairway to The Crypt >> |
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Credit
for the text in this tour:
The
Abbey of Montecassino. Pubblicazioni Cassinesi / B.N. Marconi., Genova,
1998
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