Subiaco, Lazio, Italy
Monastery of San Benedetto (Sacro Speco)
A monastery built into the cliffside at Subiaco, Italy, marking the cave where a young Benedict of Nursia lived as a hermit before founding Western monasticism.
The Sacro Speco — the Holy Cave — is where it all started. Around the year 500, a young Roman named Benedict withdrew to a cave in the hills east of Rome to live as a hermit. From that cave came the Rule of St. Benedict and, eventually, the entire Western monastic tradition. The monastery built over and around the cave clings to the cliff like a bird's nest, its walls rising directly from the rock face above the Aniene Valley. Inside, the corridors twist and descend to the original cave, passing through chapels covered in frescoes from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The oldest fresco — a portrait of St. Francis of Assisi painted during his lifetime — is here. Benedictine monks still live and pray in this place.
Diocese: Diocese of Tivoli
Style: Medieval Cliffside Monastery
What to See
The descent to Benedict's cave is the heart of the visit. Along the way, the frescoes are stunning — look for the St. Francis portrait, painted before his canonization. The views of the Aniene Valley from the monastery windows are dramatic. The upper and lower churches both deserve time.
Pilgrim Notes
Subiaco is about 70 kilometers east of Rome, reachable by bus or car. The nearby monastery of Santa Scolastica — the oldest Benedictine monastery in the world — is a short walk and should be visited together. Modest dress is required.