Abbazia di Casamari

A Cistercian abbey from the 12th century

In southern Lazio, in Veroli, in the province of Frosinone, the Abbazia di Casamari is one of the purest examples of Cistercian architecture in Italy. Since the 12th century, monks have prayed, worked, and welcomed guests here. Today, a community of sixteen Cistercian monks keeps this great monastery alive, the mother house of the Congregation of Casamari.

The abbey opens its doors to priests, religious, and men traveling alone who wish to spend a few days inside the monastery, sharing the life of the community. It also offers a room for the night to pilgrims on the Way of Saint Benedict and the Via Francigena del Sud. As for groups (parishes, school camps, scouts), they are welcomed on a self-catering basis at the Grangia di Antera, a small convent perched on the nearby hills.

The community belongs to the great Cistercian family: since 1929, Casamari and the monasteries it has founded form an autonomous monastic congregation, affiliated with the Cistercian Order.

A community nearly a thousand years old

The abbey was built at the beginning of the second millennium on the ruins of the ancient city of Cereate, birthplace of the Roman consul Caius Marius: Casamari literally means "the house of Marius." Benedictines settled there first, then the Cistercians succeeded them in the mid-12th century and built the current monastery. The cornerstone of the church was blessed by Pope Innocent III in 1203, and the building was consecrated by Honorius III in 1217. Eight centuries later, its structure has remained almost intact.

The history of Casamari has known its dark hours. In the spring of 1799, retreating soldiers from the French army burst into the abbey during Compline. Six monks lost their lives protecting the Blessed Sacrament.

After the lootings of the 19th century and the confiscation of its property, the abbey was declared a national monument in 1874, and its care was entrusted to the monks themselves. In 1930, the congregation received from the Holy See the mission of establishing Catholic monasticism in Ethiopia and Eritrea. A community from Lazio spreading all the way to the Horn of Africa — a remarkable way to practice hospitality on a grand scale!

Daily life at Casamari

Prayer

The monks gather in choir several times a day, from the Office of Readings and Lauds at 5:15 a.m. to Compline at 9:00 p.m., followed by the great silence of the night. Vespers are preceded by a time of lectio divina, and Mass is celebrated each day in the abbey church. You will pray in a setting of great simplicity: faithful to the spirit of Saint Bernard, the builders banished superfluous ornamentation to leave full room for recollection.

Cistercian architecture

The church, a Latin cross with three naves, impresses with its Gothic vaults and windows fitted with alabaster panels that filter a soft light. A unique curiosity in Cistercian architecture: the bell tower does not rise at the crossing of the transept, but over the bay preceding it. And do not look for the organ: its 1,525 pipes are housed outside the church, for a remarkable acoustic effect.

The cloister, the heart of the monastery, is the place of silence par excellence. On one of its capitals, tradition recognizes the faces of Emperor Frederick II and his secretary, a reminder of his stay at Casamari in 1222.

The monastery's treasures

• The museum, housed in the monks' former workrooms and the warming room, brings together artifacts from prehistory through the Roman era, as well as old paintings.
• The library, holding approximately 70,000 volumes, occupies the former refectory of the lay brothers: a room 25 meters long and 30 meters high.
• The pharmacy and liquoreria carry on an old monastic tradition of herbal preparations, from the Elixir San Bernardo to the Rosolio stomatico.

Going on retreat at the Abbazia di Casamari

Men traveling alone, priests, and religious are received at the guest house (foresteria) located in the abbey garden, for a few days lived at the rhythm of the community.

A retreat is marked above all by silence, conducive to recollection: from 9:30 p.m. onward, after Compline, the great night silence begins.

For pilgrims, a room for the night is available for those walking the Way of Saint Benedict or the Via Francigena del Sud.

Groups can be accommodated at the Grangia di Antera, approximately 6 km away. It has 70 beds, a church, a fully equipped kitchen, and meeting rooms, on the edge of a wood and surrounded by extensive green spaces. It operates on a self-catering basis.

Activities around the Abbazia di Casamari, in Lazio

• The Grangia di Antera, about 6 km away on the hills, for a walk to this small convent on the edge of the forest.
• Veroli, the town to which the abbey belongs, whose monastery was already praised by an old chronicle as "the honor of the people."
• The Abbazia di Montecassino, in the same province of Frosinone, another major Benedictine monastic site in Lazio.
• Rome

Good to know: the abbey can be visited free of charge every day from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Groups are advised to book in advance.