Cassino rose on the slopes of Mount Cairo massif, at a very strategic point in the Liri Valley, which was at the crossroads of important trade routes and transhumance since prehistoric times. Between the end of the sixth century and the beginning of the fifth century BC, the area experienced the passages of the Volscian people who were aiming to conquer the fertile Pontine Valley. Once the Volsci’s power gradually started to decay, and the Latin League was finally defeated in 338 BC, the Samnites moved towards southern Lazio, occupying the territories of Cassino as well. The pre-Roman inhabited area, which was originally Volscian and then Samnite, was protected by city walls and probably located in the suburb “Crocifisso”. It was situated on a natural terrace on the slopes of Montecassino, in the same place where the Roman city saw its birth. 

The territory passed under Roman control between the end of the fourth and the beginning of the third centuries BC; Casinum first became “civitas sine suffragio” and then a prefecture. In the first half of the first century BC, it became a “municipium”, which was ruled by “duoviri iure dicundo”. Later, during the triumviral age, it was turned into a colony.

Between the first century BC and the first century AD, the city lived through a period of great splendor and saw the birth of the first public buildings, but from the third century AD, it went through a slow decline and ended up being only a small town. 

However, in the fifth century, it became a fortified center known as “Castrum Casinum”, it was also a bishopric. Some years later, in 529 AD, Saint Benedict founded his Abbey on Montecassino. 

Unfortunately, between 581 and 589 AD, the Longobards of Zotone sacked Montecassino, and only in the eighth century, a new urban center developed on the slopes of Rocca Janula. A century later, the abbot Bertharius called the city Eulogimenopolis (the city of Benedict). In 874, the city changed its name into San Germano, to honor the relics of the Saint bishop from Capua, which were donated by King Ludwig II. Afterwards, in 833 the Abbey was destroyed once again by the Saracens, who invaded the inhabited area and killed the abbot Bertharius too. It was only in the tenth century, that the abbot Aligerno decided to build Rocca Janula, a stronghold in defense of Montecassino and its territory, tired of the several incursions and destructions. A significant moment in Cassino’s history was the signing of the peace treaty (“Pace di San Germano”) by Emperor Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX, in 1230. Because of an earthquake that shocked the center of Italy in 1349, the Abbey was destroyed once again; this probably caused the abandonment of Castrum Sancti Petri, which rose on the remains of the ancient Casinum. 

Moreover, in 1527 the territory was hit by a terrible plague that decimated the population. Two centuries later, in 1799 the city went under Napoleonic occupation. Therefore, a pro-Napoleonic administration was appointed in San Germano too, with many disagreements within the population. The whole area, occupied by their opponents, was devastated by the French troops that were retreating from Naples. In 1863, the city changed its name from San Germano to Cassino, with the opening of the railway station in the same year. The city was part of the province “Terra di Lavoro” (Land of Labor) until 1927, when the Province of Frosinone was constituted. In 1930, from the square of the railway station, a cableway was opened to the public to reach the abbey in 7 minutes, covering a difference in the height of 400 meters; it was destroyed during the Second World War when Cassino and its famous abbey were one of the strategic spots on the Gustav Line. From September 1943 to May 1944, armies from all over the world, in their march towards Rome, tried to force the tenacious German opposition, which was hiding in the mountains around Cassino. On the 15th February 1944, two massive air raids razed the abbey and the city below. After this huge sacrifice, the city deserved the title of “Martyr City for Peace” and earned the Gold Medal of Military Valour. Today Cassino is a modern city counting about 35.000 inhabitants; it is home to the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, and in its surroundings, it also hosts the FIAT Cassino plant, one of the most modern car plants in Europe.

Ufficio Turistico del Comune di Cassino

Piazza De Gasperi, 03043 Cassino (FR)

Phone: +39 0776 1666902

Email: info@visitcassino.com