Ciociaria
From Subiaco, the road to Ciociaria leads south, a relatively remote corner of Lazio, whose name derives from the sandals - aunts - worn here in ancient times. It is a historical land, settled many centuries before the advent of the Romans by the tribe of Hernic, who built difficult to access hills on the local hills, heavily fortified castles. Thanks to the intelligent policy of the alliance with Rome, many of these castles have survived and the remains of them can still be seen today in the form of unusual, cyclopean walls of the citadel, not found anywhere else in Italy.
The first city I come across is FIUGGI, a health resort that attracts health-conscious Italian tourists throughout the summer. There are mineral springs here; you can get this water in bottles from numerous supermarkets. It is not a very attractive place: amnesty, the gardens and sports halls are modern and expensive, overcrowded in summer, completely dead in winter.
There are two routes from Fiuggi, one due west to ANANGA and the other south to ALATRI. Anagni, the former fortress of Herniks, is a well-preserved old town. Many medieval popes descended from the local Segni family, including Boniface VIII. The Boniface Palace was besieged by the army of the king of France, Philip IV, who challenged the absolute papal authority. Little is left of the former palace and the building is now mostly contemporary. The 11th-century Duomo is impressive, romanesque basilica, in front of which stands a statue of Boniface. Inside is a lovely cosmatesco pawiment, 13th-century canopy, some 13th-century frescoes in the crypt and a treasury with pontifical memorabilia of Pope Boniface.
The hemitic ALATRI is located in the opposite direction (Aletrium) largely preserved massive cyclopean walls from the 6th century. p.n.e., erected long before the Romans developed stone processing techniques. The city's streets meander around the citadel at the top, passing under two rectangular gates (The bow was not known yet), behind which rises the cathedral and the Bishop's Palace. They were built on the site of the Hemitian temples, of which no trace was left. By the way, the views are gorgeous.
The situated Fr. 10 km to the west, FERENTINO also boasts a nice complex of walls, admittedly eclectic, because modified by the Romans. And here you can get to the top of the citadel, although it is a short distance from a modern train station, and Roman temples and the cathedral are rarely open. More or less 10 km further south lies the capital of Ciociaria, FROSINONE. It's monotonous, the expanding city has no distinct center and hardly any Hemitian monuments. However, there are good bus and train connections to other towns in Lazio and Campania: buses run west to Privemo, near which you can take the north or south train, as well as visit Fossanova Abbey; while the trains run from FS station (far out of town, but with bus access) to Naples, Cassino i Caserty.
Less than an hour by bus to PRIVERNO, another town on top of the hill. The gothic town hall and the cathedral rises above the beautiful market square 1283 r. It is said to contain the relics of St.. Thomas Aquinas. More or less 5 km outside the city (an hour on foot or by frequent bus service from Piazza XX Settembre) Fossanova Abbey is located (in summer every day. 8.00-12.00 i 16.00-19.30, in winter every day. 15.30-17.30), in which, on the way from Naples to Lyon, St. 1274 r. Thomas Aquinas. You can be tempted to visit this Cistercian monastery while waiting for the train, departing from the Privemo-Fossanova railway station 2 km away. Overall it is a fairly strict complex, largely restored buildings. The 13th-century church in the Gothic style of Burgundy captivates with its simplicity in combination with the flashiness of most Italian religious buildings. From the church you can go out to simple Romanesque cloisters, with a garden in the middle and a chapter house equipped with large windows, through which lay brothers could observe the services (a corridor in the cloisters on the opposite side from the church was intended for them). The door on the left leads through the small, a separate courtyard to the guest wing in the northern part of the cloisters, where Thomas Aquinas would breathe his last.
Further south: Cassino i Opactwo Monte Cassino
In the city of CASSINO, located Fr. 50 minutes by train from Frosinone, there is another important monastery, opactwo Monte Cassino (codz. 8.00-12.00 i 15.30-18.00; Free entrance), founded in 529 r. by St.. Benedict after he left Subiaco. Three ravens showed him the place. Over the years it has been one of the most important and influential monastic complexes in the Christian world. The local monks preached the Good News in Britain and Scandinavia and developed cultural and scientific traditions, on which the Benedictine Order was based. Over the years, the abbey was destroyed many times: due to its strategic location at the top of the mountain between Rome and Naples, it was a tasty morsel for numerous attackers.
For the last time, fighting broke out here in 1944 r., when the allied forces struggled with German troops for six months. The abbey was a key German strategic position on the peninsula and the Allies eventually turned it to rubble with bombing raids, losing over 1000 Polish soldiers. Soon the monastery was rebuilt with faithful strictness, medieval style, but much more impressive than the buildings themselves are their location at the top of the hill. Most of the band is closed to the public, while the sterile white central courtyard is interesting only for its views of the surrounding hills and the Polish cemetery below. From the courtyard you enter the church in a disgustingly overloaded baroque style. The church houses a small museum with incunabula, old manuscripts etc.. However, the impression is dominant, that the glory days of Monte Cassino were over during the Second World War.
The city below has also been almost completely destroyed and is not too charming. There is an AAST office at via Condotia (pn.-sb. 9.00-14.00), on the opposite side of the center from the train and bus stations. Buses climb to the abbey every day of Fr. 9.45 i 15.45, but if you don't make it, you can hitchhike there without any hassle. As for accommodation, a list of cheap hotels can be obtained from the AAST office.