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768rons
This was our second trip after 14 years, and it was still a great visit. Both the views and the history makes it a great hour stop when you are in the area.
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JaneWong
Quite a ride through little towns to get to this place and was almost lost as the night falls.Pretty cold by end Oct. We stayed for a night.Saw the cave where St Benedict stayed and prayed for 3years. Amazing stories about him. There are so many treasures kept here for pilgrims to see. Wish I could stay here longer
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wanderer630
We took a Cotral bus from Rome (Metro stop Ponte Mammalo) to Subiaco first thing in the morning (about 8:30am). Bring your water bottle, kleenex for toilet paper, some cash, and layers - it's cooler in Subiaco than in Rome. And cover your knees and shoulders, since it's a holy site. We bought our tickets, cappuccini, and pastries from the same window! Buy your return ticket then, too. The buses are up above - ask at the window if you're not sure. It was a beautiful ride and less than an hour. You get off at the last stop, in the middle of Subiaco. There are signs that say "Monasteri Benedettini" along the way, although we missed the first one at the bus station and just walked through town, which was very neat. There are signs through town, too, and everyone will know what you're talking about if you stop and ask which way you should go.There isn't really food at the top - just a few vending machines, and they're locked up from 12:30 - 3pm for siesta. We bought picnic food at a tiny, friendly grocery store (photo below): bread, cheese, yogurt, and apples, to eat for lunch. They also sell prosciutto, olives, carrots, and other good stuff. We had a blast trying to communicate with the guy at the deli counter, who helped us choose really good stuff and made us laugh in the process. They're at Via Papa Braschi, 4, just past the center of town. There's another place called "Pantini Fruit" in Subiaco, but it's not along the main route... notIt was quite a hike up. My husband and I are in our 30s, and had to stop now and then to catch our breath (lots of stairs!). But it was fine, especially on a cool fall day. The first stop is St. Scholastica Monastery, which is older than St. Benedetto (although they're now a single monastery). There are bathrooms (no toilet paper), a gift shop, and you can ask for a tour, but only if you can leave a cash donation. There's a basket at the end. It's a brief look at the three cloisters, two ancient wells, and the main chapel. St. S. is also the site of the first Italian printing press. Stop to fill your water bottle and keep going up. It took us about 45 minutes to hike this far.There's a guesthouse here - La Foresteria. It looked quite nice.Watch for the signs or blazes on trees and rocks. You can keep climbing stairs, or just walk the paved road up. There are beautiful views looking down, either way. If you want to climb the "Sacred Stairs" up to the monastery, stick to the paved road (you can't climb them back down). It took us about 30 minutes to hike up the rest of the way. At the top is a courtyard with bathrooms, shop with vending machines, as well as a water source. The monastery and shop are closed from 12:30 to 3, but the bathrooms and water spigot are available. We had about 20 minutes to look at the frescoes before they closed, and we had our picnic and sat in the sunshine, reading, talking, napping, until 3. There's a wonderful, deep silence up there... although one side of the courtyard is more of a wind tunnel than the other - you can walk around and figure out what seems most comfortable.Then we went back into the monastery to look at those amazing frescoes once more. They ask that you don't take photos, but know that they are in the spirit of Giotto, with amazing faces and detail. Some gory stuff, too. Don't miss the fresco of St. Francis, up a spiral staircase, painting during his lifetime. It's protected behind glass, so you can't miss it.We headed back down the mountain at around 4pm, and it probably took us just under and hour to get back to the bus station. It wasn't long before a bus back to Ponte Mammalo was ready to take us back. It was a long day of walking, but we loved the sense of pilgrimage and adventure!
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stan1964
The road from Palestrina, passing Cave, to the monastery at Subiaco takes you 1 hour through a nice, real unspoiled italian landscape. Drive your car high up the hill to the upper part of the monastry (San Scolastica). On this first wednesday of oktober, we where the only people in the monastry. There was nobody attending us, nobody at the entrance too, no entrance fee. Only a monk in the little "souvenirshop". There is a notice on the door that you should behave en dress yourself respectfull. When entering the upper church of the monastry, you are overwhelmed by its beauty and mystic athmosphere. The "cave" where Benedict, the grounder of the Benedictine monastries, should have spent 3 years as a hermit, totally outside the world ( at about 500 BC) is totally surrounded by beautiful frescoes (the oldest dating from about 750 BC) and the inner walls of the church of the monastry. This sacred abandoned place has a magic beauty, even for us, not religeous any more. Yes, this is a must when you are close to Rome! We didn't visit the main monastrybuildings, more down the road (santo speco).
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patinhongkong
From our base in Palestrina, we drove through mountainous country on twisty roads for an hour and a half to reach the Monastero di San Benedetto, and were very glad we did so. Though not at all religious, we appreciated the tranquility of the double church (like in Assisi) and spectacular cliffside setting. Inside, the frescoes date from the 8th century and are by anonymous artists painting at a time when it was unimportant to attach a name to a devotional work. Most interesting is a portrait of St Francis, supposedly painted in his lifetime, without halo or stigmata. The grotto where San Benedetto lived for a time before founding his monastic order is obviously of great significance to Catholics and at certain times of day, large numbers visit the shrine. We were lucky and almost had to place to ourselves. For what it's worth, we got there late in the morning and this being Italy, lunchtime might be a good time to arrive.
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MargaretBenefiel
This monastery was built up around the Sacro Speco, the cave where St. Benedict prayed for 3 years. It's amazing to see how it was built on the sheer cliff. The frescoes are beautiful, as are the views. Our bus took us almost to the entrance, which was nice because it's a steep climb. Worth a visit!
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335DanL
My 11 year old son and I made a special pilgrimage into the mountains where St Benedict meditated for 3 years.The monastery itself is very beautiful and peaceful. We were able to sit and pray in the grotto where St Benedict lived during his time there. The Sacro Speco isn't huge. There is a church at the top and a few small chapels below. Beautiful frescoes line much of the interior. More information can be found at their website: http://www.benedettini-subiaco.it/monastery_stbenedict.asp?rid=22.There is a souvenir shop up there and a few drink vending machines.Getting there from Rome was a bit of a challenge. Maybe this might be helpful to those who would like to make a trip from Rome. We took the metro to Ponte Mammolo station to catch the COTRAL bus to Subiaco. The bus station is right at the metro station. We bought our return bus tickets from the cafe, went up to the next floor to catch the bus. The bus took us to Subiaco but I don't think there is a bus that will go all the way up to St Benedict's Monastery. We did see a bus at St Scholastica's monastery though but St Benedict's is further up the mountain. I don't know the route of that bus so not much help there. We asked a local and was told that we could walk up. Just follow the signs. It's quite well sign posted BUT it's a long hike up, especially in mid summer heat! There are paths that took us on a straighter path up there instead of winding up on the road. That also means that it is a steeper climb. The distance from Subiaco town itself is about 4-5 km of mostly on an incline. It took us just over 1 1/2 hours to get to St Benedict's with a short rest at St Scholastica.Coming down was a breeze though. :-) So yes, it's possible to walk up from Subiaco but expect quite a long walk uphill.
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mercurio-online
Today I've been in Subiaco with my family (my wife and 2 kids: 8 and 10 y.o.). We are from Rome and we couldn't image there is a so amazing place so close to Rome (around 1 hour driving) and not so advertised. Visiting this magic place we all have had a wonderful and peaceful feeling and it seems to be living in the Middle Ages. You MUST see it and you will never regret: I swear.
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allyc655
I didn't expect a building on this scale. Again the combinations of architectural styles is fascinating.The tour was definitely worth the time!
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stefano6675
bellissimo monastero a due passi da subiaco. inutile dire che è fantastico sia per la posizione che per la storia che racchiude, soprattutto se si pensa che san benedetto rimase nello speco per ben 3 anni in totale isolamento. non aggiungo altro, se non che vi consiglio vivamente di prenotare la visita guidata, il monaco saPra' darvi spiegazioni fondamentali per immergervi nell'atmosfera. vedete le foto presenti anche qui su TA per rendervi conto che vale veramente la pena, credenti e non. certo sentire la storia e vedere la bomba inesplosa della seconda guerra mondiale nella grotta di san benedetto fa un certo effetto, sapendo che subiaco era stata rasa al suolo. da vedere almeno una volta nella vita.
