Italy in Photos

Via Montecassino, 03043 Cassino, Italy (August 2018)

Polish Military Field of Honour

On the slopes below the abbey lies the Polish Military Cemetery—officially known as the Polish Military Field of Honour. It is the final resting place of over 1,000 soldiers of the Polish II Corps who fell during the final stages of the Battle of Montecasino. Commanded by General Władysław Anders, these men fought with extraordinary determination to capture the heights, knowing the battle’s symbolic and strategic importance. The cemetery’s design is simple yet profoundly moving. Rows of white crosses and gravestones lead the eye upward toward the abbey, a visual link between the sacrifice of the soldiers and the liberation of this sacred site. At its centre stands a memorial inscribed with words in Polish that translate to: “For our freedom and yours, we soldiers of Poland gave our soul to God, our life to the soil of Italy, and our hearts to Poland.”. For Polish visitors and many others, the cemetery is a place of pilgrimage, a solemn reminder of the shared struggles and bonds forged during the war. The view from the cemetery, looking up to the rebuilt abbey—captures in a single glance the intertwined narratives of destruction, sacrifice, and renewal.

Today, Montecasino Abbey, its museum, and the Polish Military Field of Honour together form a powerful cultural landscape. They embody the enduring legacy of Saint Benedict’s vision, the catastrophic toll of global conflict, and the capacity for reconciliation and rebuilding. Visitors who make the journey to this hilltop encounter not only magnificent architecture and treasured artefacts but also the layered human stories that have unfolded here over fifteen centuries. In this way, Montecasino is more than a monument, it is a living dialogue between past and present, faith and history, loss and hope.