Subiaco- St. Benedict

The Monastery of St. Benedict in Subiaco enshrines the cave (Sacro Speco) in which St. Benedict lived as a hermit before he organized his first monastic community. Subiaco is located southeast of Rome and makes a convenient day trip either from Rome (1 hour) or Anagni (45 minutes). Located amid spectacular natural scenery, the monastery is still active but welcomes visitors to pray at Benedict's cave and explore the church covered in beautiful medieval frescoes. Among the many fascinating frescoes is a portrait of St. Francis of Assisi painted during his lifetime. Simply constructed of brown-hued stone, the Monastery of St. Benedict clings to a forested mountain cliff. In front of the entrance is a graveled platform with fine views of the monastery, its well-tended garden, and the valley below. The oldest parts of the monastery are the lowest levels. The entrance door, decorated with a 13th-century mosaic cross, leads into a passageway formed by the rocky cliff on one side and a stone wall with large windows on the other. At the end of the passageway is another door, which has a Latin inscription on the architrave: "Sit pax intranti, sit gratia digna precanti. Laurentius cum Jacobo filio suo fecit hoc opus." Above the door is a 15th-century painting of the Madonna and Child by the Umbrian school; paintings on the vault are of the same date and school.