Before the lockdown had come into effect in Italy due to the Coronavirus crisis, my brother, my brother's friend Angelo and I, had decided to rent a car and do a day trip to the town of Subiaco. east of Rome, among the Simbrunini mountains. After about one hour of driving we reached the town of Subiaco and decided to head further and visit the famous monasteries first. So after parking our car we then continued on foot following a trail leading up the mountain until we came in sight of the Monastery of San Benedetto also known as Sacro Speco built on the side of Monte Taleo. The origins of the monument are old, as it was here during the 6th century that Saint Benedict of Nursia lived as a hermit inside the small caves that dotted the area. The cave where the saint lived became a place of worship already in the same century and the first artistic representations followed from the 8th century onwards. As we approached the monastery we noticed how incredibly embedded in the rock and overhanging the valley below it was, and entered through to visit the interior. Walls, vaults, and stairs, perfectly integrated into the stone on which they rest, with their irregularity, guarantee an authentic suggestion when visiting and a confused sense of being in a complex labyrinth. The monastery is made up of two churches, one over the other, with chapels and caves all entirely frescoed. We started out by visiting the upper church, which was built as the last part of the whole complex, but which looks the most impressive with its large main nave featuring beautiful frescoes dating to the 13th and 14th centuries. The large fresco of the Crucifixion which appears right in front as soon as one enters is a masterpiece to admire; around it are further frescoes depicting the life of Jesus. In the back, where the main altar lies, are frescoes depicting the life of Saint Benedict and a particularly nice one showing him on a chair. A small staircase then leads down to the lower church, where the spaces became narrower and more irregular. Here there we more frescoes detailing the lives and miracles of other saints, more of Saint Benedict. Here is also the original cave where Saint Benedict lived for three years as a hermit. A small staircase then led up into the rock in the small chapel of San Gregorio where we saw an interesting fresco depicting Saint Francis before he received the stigmata in 1224 and thus probably the oldest representation of the saint. As we continued on we walked down the Scala Sancta, or holy stairs, where an interesting fresco of the Triumph of Death depicts death riding a horse with an unsheathed sword, proceeding at a fast pace, regardless of those who it overwhelms in its passage (nobles, monks, ladies, etc). The staircase then leads to the chapel of the Madonna where more frescoes complete the cycle, including a nice Annunciation. Here a small door then led outside to a little terrace overlooking the valley below. We then decided to walk the whole complex back up, re-admiring all the beautiful and detailed frescoes inside before coming out once more from the upper part. After walking back down the mountain and reaching our car we decided it was time to head to town and look for a place to have lunch. We chose a restaurant called Aniene where we had a good lunch with typical local dishes. After eating we decided to visit the city center; we started right next to the restaurant where the nice baroque Basilica of Sant'Andrea Apostolo was located. We then continued on and walked uphill through the pretty streets of the old town, visiting the church of Santa Maria Della Valle on the way. We then approached the Rocca, the castle built on the top of the hilltop at the center of the town. Built during the 11th century by the abbot Giovanni V it later became known as the Rocca dei Borgia as it was supposedly here that Giovanni, Cesare, and Lucrezia, the children of Rodrigo Borgia, future Pope Alexander VI and his lover Vannozza Cattanei, were born. As we reached the top of the castle where the nice clock tower is located, we admired the beautiful view of the town below and the surrounding mountains. From there we walked back down through the old town and reached the car once more in order to head to visit the next monastery, that of Santa Scolastica. After passing the remains of what was once the ancient Roman villa of Emperor Nero, we parked next to the monastery and entered through the main gate where a group of people was waiting for the guided tour to start. We gathered around as well and waited for our turn when finally a monk came to lead us through the complex. This monastery was one of the twelve monasteries wanted by Saint Benedict and was found in 520 making it the oldest benedictine monastery in the world. Of the twelve, this one is the only remaining one, the others being destroyed by Saracen incursions and earthquakes. As our tour started, we were first brought through the main renaissance cloister dating to the 16th century with a statue of Santa Scolastica at its center. We then walked onwards and reached the second cloister, this one featuring a beautiful Gothic style built between the 13th and 14th centuries. The cloister has an irregular plan, with a nice hexagonal well at its center and a beautiful flamboyant gothic portal on one of the sides. Through a gallery, we then reached the last, smallest but most beautiful of the cloisters, the one called of the Cosmati from the leading family workshop of craftsmen in Rome who created such geometrical marble decorations. The cloister features in fact a beautiful array of decorated columns and arches and its galleries are frescoed with the medieval towns that were under the jurisdiction of the monastery. From the cloister, we could also admire the elegant Romanesque bell tower that juts out from among the rooftop. After visiting the monastery we decided to head downhill through a path that led us to the nice quaint Laghetto di San Benedetto. This little pond nestled in the forest featured a nice waterfall and stream running down the valley. We walked around enjoying the peace and quiet of the place and then headed back up to the car. Our last stop for the day was the nice Ponte di San Francesco, located on the western side of town. This nice humpback bridge dates to the 14th century served as a crossing over the Aniene river and still features a guard tower at one of its ends. We took a few photos there and met a friendly dog walking about, before finally getting back in the car and driving home to Rome.
