The Sacro Speco, the cave where St Benedict lived as a hermit
In the green valley of the Aniene, about seventy kilometres from Rome, Subiaco is the cradle of Western monasticism. Around 500 AD the young Benedict of Nursia withdrew here to live as a hermit in a cave on the cliffs; around him grew the communities from which the Benedictine order would spread across Europe.
Over the cave rose the monastery of San Benedetto, the Sacro Speco, clinging to the rock face: a cascade of chapels and churches built one over the other and entirely covered with frescoes from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, including the oldest known portrait of St Francis of Assisi, who visited in 1223. Lower down, the monastery of Santa Scolastica, with three cloisters, was the place where in 1465 the first books printed in Italy came off the press.
Tip: the walk between the two monasteries takes about twenty minutes along a scenic path; the monks sell their products in the shop. Modest clothing is required.
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