Abbey of Saint Scholastica, Subiaco

[1] In the early 6th century Benedict of Nursia, a man from a well-to-do family who was educated at Rome, retired to a grotto near an ancient Roman Villa in Subiaco, in the mountains of north Latium (Lazio).

His reputation as a spiritual guide quickly drew disciples to him there, including many of his old Roman friends, who also settled in the area.

But it was restored, and grew in the tenth century thanks to the patronage and favour of several popes, many of whom were, in fact, Benedictine monks.

As for monastic establishments throughout Europe, the 11th and 12th centuries were a golden age for the abbey, when it boasted vast lands, a large number of monks, and elaborate, ornate liturgy.

Long power struggles with the feudal establishment weakened the abbey, and decadence set in when Calixtus III made Juan de Torquemada (uncle of the famous inquisitor) commendatory abbot.

The tide began to turn in 1753, when Benedict XIV decided to remove commendatory abbots' power over the day-to-day running of their monasteries, leaving them only the spiritual and ecclesiastical dignity.

Located a few kilometers from the abbey proper, the ancient shrine is attached to the side of the mountain, its structure supported by nine high arcades.

The 2002 measures transferred these parishes to a variety of neighbouring dioceses, leaving the abbot, as ordinary, with jurisdiction over the abbey church itself, the Sacro Speco and other Benedictine properties close by.