This medieval town, high up near the source of the Aniene river, beside the Monti Simbruini park, is the destination of frequent pilgrimages to the monasteries of St. Benedict and Santa Scolastica. Here, at the end of the fifth century, the young Benedict lived for three years as a hermit in a cave now known as the Sacro Speco, before moving on to Montecassino. The monastery of Santa Scolastica is half way up the mountain, while that of St. Benedict stands on a rocky base overhanging the valley. The noteworthy features of the convent include the 14th-century façade of its church, the Renaissance frescoes in the Cappella degli Angeli, (which can be reached via the sacristy), and the library, which contains precious, illuminated manuscripts and incunabula. Among them is the first book printed in Italy. The monastery of St. Benedict, started in the 11th century, houses precious paintings and frescoes of the late Middle Ages. In the chapel of San Gregorio Magno in particular there is a most original portrait of St. Francis, unusually without a halo, and possibly the only one executed from life.
Not far off, the Monti Simbruini park offers a pleasant opportunity to enjoy green woodland, with beeches, mountain maples, spruces, and a colorful undergrowth of flowers: wild orchids, violets, narcissi, and gentians. In some parts of the park there are wolves, Marsican bears, and small carnivores such as martens and badgers. Royal eagles nest on the mountain crests.
Subiaco is fairly far from Rome - about 70 kilometers - but the expressway link (A24, Roviano exit), makes the journey easy.
