Benedictine monastery. Perhaps the most widely known fact about the Battle of Monte Cassino is the destruction of the formidable Benedictine monastery that loomed over the town spread out on the plain below.

Perceiving this evil attack on his life, Benedict left these wayward and undisciplined monks in order to establish a new monastery. Journeying southeast to Monte Cassino, Benedict destroyed a pagan temple dedicated to Apollo, and upon its ruins built the monastery of Monte Cassino.