The impressive mortuary building of the first century AD originally had two levels. It was built inside the urban area, against the sacred laws that forbade burials in inhabited areas. 

The upper level, which now no longer exists, was called the “podium” and directly faced the via Latina nova. The lower part was constituted by a hypogeal cell made of big perfectly squared limestone blocks, placed in horizontal lines, without mortar, and only connected by metal grapples. The room is shaped like a Greek cross, with symmetrical arms surmounted by round-arched vaults; in the center, the hemispherical dome has four long and narrow slits to illuminate the interior. 

The mausoleum is traditionally attributed to Ummidia Quadratilla, without concrete evidence. She was the daughter of the consul Gaio Ummidio Durmio Quadrato and a benefactress who lived in Cassino between the first and the second centuries AD. In the eleventh century, the building was adapted and transformed into a church devoted to St. Nicola. At the end of the seventeenth century, the abbot Andrea Deodato reopened and dedicated it to Jesus Crucified, from which the suburb takes its name. 

After the WWII bombardments, the ancient church was almost razed to the ground; some important frescoes have been saved and kept in Montecassino’s Abbey. 

Ufficio Turistico del Comune di Cassino

Piazza De Gasperi, 03043 Cassino (FR)

Telefono: +39 0776 298404

Email: info@visitcassino.com