Cassino's roots lie in the settlement ofCasinum, the last city of theLatins,[5] ofUmbrian[6] orVenetic[6] orOscan origin,[7][8] sited atop the hill of Cassino nearMonte Cairo, 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) to the north. Casinum passed under the control of theVolscians first and then theSamnites,[7][8][9] Eventually Sabini (a Volsci branch and Umbrian/Venetic origins)[6] were defeated by the Romans[6] that gained control of Casinum and its territory (ager casinas),[6] establishing a fortifiedLatin colony there in 312 BC,Interamna Lirenas.[6]
During theRoman era the most venerated god was Apollo, whose temple rose up on Montecassino, where today stands the abbey. At least once duringPunic Wars,Hannibal passed near Casinum. Casinum was also the site of a villa presumed to belong toMarcus Terentius Varro.
The ancient Casinum was deeply damaged by several barbarian raids. The bookDialogues,Pope Gregory I gives us the testimony of theBenedict of Nursia settlement among the ruins of Casinum Acropolis. He destroyed the image ofApollo and pagan altars, and sanctified the place in the name ofSt. John the Baptist. From that moment on, he would never leave Montecassino: he founded the monastery that became a model for the Western monasticism and one of the major cultural centers of Europe throughout the Middle Ages and wrote the "Rule", containing precepts for his monks. In the meanwhile the population built a village calledCastellum Sancti Petri.
Because of their strategic position, the abbey and the village were involved in military events. In 577 a raid of theLombards, led byZotto, forced the monks to leave Monte Cassino to seek refuge in Rome. They came back only after more than a century. In 744, thanks to the donation ofGisulf II of Benevento, the monastery became the capital of a new state, calledTerra Sancti Benedicti ("Land of Saint Benedict"). Few years later the town was re-founded by AbbotBertharius and calledEulogimenopolis, meaning "city of Saint Benedict" in Greek. In 883 the monastery and the town were again attacked, this time bySaracens, and Bertharius was killed along with some other monks.
The abbey was again rebuilt in 949 by the decision ofPope Agapetus II and, together with the town, renamedSan Germano (after SaintGermanus of Capua), began to experience a prosperous period. For defensive purposes, the castle Rocca Janula, which still dominates the town today, was also built. In the abbey are conserved thePlaciti Cassinesi, dated 960–963, considered the first documents ever written in the Italian language. The abbey of San Germano had ceased to exist by the time of Abbot Richerius (1038–1055), when it was a parish church under an archpriest.[10]
On 9 September 1349, San Germano was destroyed by a large earthquake, which also seriously damaged the abbey. The reconstruction took place in 1366, at Pope Urbano V's will.
During the Renaissance era Cassino lay on the northern frontier of theKingdom of Naples, which was dominated bySpain. In 1504, during theSecond Italian War, theFrench attempted to capture the town in the Battle of Cassino, but failed.
On July 28, 1863 the name of the town was officially reverted to "Cassino". In the same year the town was reached by the rail system. Cassino was part of theProvince Terra di Lavoro (meaning "Land of Work") until 1927, when the Province of Frosinone was founded. On May 21, 1930 a cable car leading from the town to the Abbey in 7 minutes, covering a vertical drop of over 400 metres (1,300 ft), was inaugurated.
InWorld War II, after southern Italy was invaded by theAllies, the Germans entrenched around theGerman Gustav Line, which, in its southern tip, was anchored around the mountains behind Cassino and made the town was the site of fierce fighting at theBattle of Monte Cassino. Allied troops were initially commanded to avoid destruction of a site that was deemed so culturally significant, but the human casualties became so great that permission given.[11] On 15 February 1944, the Abbey was destroyed by a heavy aerial bombardment. The Allies, believing that the Abbey was a strategic position occupied by the Germans, bombed it and killed many of the people who had taken refuge. The works of art contained in the Abbey were transferred to Rome by the Germans before the bombing, but many disappeared on the way. On 15 March, the town was completely razed to the ground by aerial bombardment and artillery fire, followed by an unsuccessful Allied attack.[12] 2,026 civilians, one-tenth of the town's entire population of 20,000, were killed by the bombing and fighting before and during the battles of Cassino.[13]
Reconstruction lasted until the 1960s. During the months following the end of the war, the area was afflicted by a malaria epidemic. However, the population received also great solidarity from the rest of Italy in terms of donations and hospitality: many children were hosted by families in northern Italy in the years after the war. Cassino earned theGold Medal of Military Valour, and had three war cemeteries built: the "Cassino War Cemetery", housing the Commonwealth victims; thePolish Cemetery; and the Germanic Cemetery.
The economy of the area was helped by the industrialization started with the settlement of theFiat Cassino Plant and its satellite firms, theSKF plant and several paper factories as well as by the establishment of the University of Cassino.
Today, the town is commercially developed even though it has suffered in recent years from the crisis of the automotive sectors.
Cassino is located at the southern end of the region of Lazio and at the northern end of the historical region calledTerra di Lavoro. The city centre is set in a valley at the foot of Monte Cassino andMonte Cairo. Cassino is distant 123 km (76 mi) from Rome, 101 km (63 mi) from Naples, 28 km (17 mi) from the beach (Gulf of Gaeta) and 24 km (15 mi) from theAbruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park.
The town is crossed by the RiversGari andRapido that join themselves in the area of the Varronian Thermal Baths; forward, in thefrazione of Sant'Angelo in Theodice, the Gari joins theLiri, becomingGarigliano, the river that marks the border between the regionsLazio andCampania.
Founded bySt. Benedict in 529, the Abbey of Monte Cassino is one of the most famous monasteries in the world and is the source of theBenedictine Order. It has been destroyed four times in its millennial history, the last time in 1944 by Allied bombing. It has been rebuilt"Com'era, dov'era" ("How it was, where it was") after the war and was reconsecrated byPope Paul VI in 1964.
Cassino's economy is based on industry and tertiary. TheFiat Chrysler Plant and its satellite firms employs a significant part of the population. As a consequence, the economy is strongly influenced by the automotive sector's trends, as experienced from the recent crisis. Cassino also has an SKF plant and several paper mills and marble factories.
The Sunday weekly market is also an attraction of people from the surrounding municipalities. Cassino also has a courthouse.
Cassino hosts theUniversity of Cassino with the Faculties of Economics, Law, Languages, Physical Education and Literature located in the campus and the Faculty of Engineering located in the city centre. Cassino also hosts branches of theSapienza University of Rome and theUniversity of Rome Tor Vergata for the degrees in Physiotherapy and Nursing. The University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, with a score of 66.8 points, is ranked at 1711 among the world's best universities by cwur.org.[14]
Cassino station: opened in 1863, is the main railway station. It is located in the city centre.
Fontanarosa-Cervaro station: is a railway station located in the southern part of the town and serves mainly the locality of Fontana Rosa and the municipality ofCervaro.
The companies Magni and Mastrantoni provides services into the city centre. Cotral links the town with other municipalities inLazio, CLP withCampania and ATM withMolise.
The main basketball club is Virtus Terra di San Benedetto Cassino, which plays inDivisione Nazionale B. Basket Cassino used to reach Serie B. It has been also guided by the coachSergei Belov.
