Gabriele Stein

On ancient paths through the region of Lazio: the new pilgrimage route. A new pilgrimage route in Italy, the "Benedict Way," has recently gained attention, connecting the key life stages of St. Benedict (circa 480–547): Nursia in Umbria, where he was born, Subiaco, where he spent 30 years and became the founding father of Western monasticism, and Montecassino in southern Lazio, where he spent the last years of his life. The 300-kilometer pilgrimage route (16 stages) traverses a millennia-old cultural landscape and diverse nature at the foot of the Apennines: starting from Nursia, located in the Sibillini Mountains National Park, it leads over the Franciscan Poggio Bustone into the Rieti Valley, continuing along ancient smuggler paths into the Aniene Valley and past medieval castles and abbeys to Subiaco, which lies near the border with Abruzzo on the edge of the Monti Simbruini Nature Park. The pilgrimage route continues along the southern slopes of the Monti Ernici into the Liri Valley, passing through Arpino (the hometown of Cicero) and Roccasecca (the home of Thomas Aquinas) to Montecassino, the famous abbey that has been destroyed and rebuilt four times.