Excursion Caserta & Cassino

Pick up directly from your hotel or indicated meeting point, driving through the towns forming the Sorrento peninsula and continuing to State Road 145 "Sorrentina", from where you can admire the Sorrentine peninsula in all its glory ! After a journey of about 2 hours and 30 minutes you will arrive to Cassino, where you can visit the famous “Abbazia”. Founded in 529 by St. Benedict of Norcia on the site of an ancient tower and a temple dedicated to Apollo, situated 519 meters above sea level, during its history it suffered an alternate story of destruction, looting, earthquakes and the consequent reconstruction. In 584, during the invasion of the Lombards, the monastery was destroyed for the first time and the community of monks, with the remains of the holy founder, had to take shelter in Rome. Then, from 643 the monks found accommodation in the community of St. Colombano in Bobbio and later in various monasteries and colombaniane abbeys in Italy and Europe, increasing greatly the Benedictine communities. Rebuilt in 717 under the impulse of Petronace of Montecassino, the Abbey was destroyed a second time by the Saracens in 883, being rebuilt in 949 by Pope Agapito II. Throughout the Middle Ages, the abbey was a lively centre of culture due to its abbots, libraries, archives, schools writer and miniaturist, who transcribed and conserved many antique works. Historical evidence of high interest have been collected and passed on to Montecassino: from the first precious documents in the manuscripts of the famous Monte Cassino, the precious and rare incunabula. During the Second World War the Abbey was almost completely destroyed and later rebuilt in the same splendour. The order of visits is likely to be changed by the guide to ensure the best conditions. Remember that in order to visit the Abbey you must be suitably dressed, in particular you need to cover shoulders, legs and generous décolletage because the control prevents visitors from entering if not appropriately dressed. Short visit to the British World War II military cemetery. The cemetery has 4255 graves, the great contribution of the British Commonwealth countries during the Great War. It was opened in 1956, its elegant architecture, ornate and refined taste. The care that is given to the clear waters of the glaze and the green gardens gives a sense of living presence to the souls of the soldiers buried.
After the wonderful visit to Cassino you continue to Caserta.
Surely the most beautiful and interesting place to visit is the famous Royal Palace of Caserta, it is a historic mansion that belonged to the royal family of Bourbon dynasty in Naples. It is surrounded by a vast park in which there are identified two areas : the Italian garden and the English garden. The complex of the royal palace, with its gardens are around 2.5 kilometers long, is one of the largest in Europe. Inside the park of the Royal Palace, local inhabitants, who have free access, they used to go jogging or just bicycle riding in the immense park. You can also rent bicycles and rickshaws in the park itself or take a ride in a horse and carriage. Recently, the park won the award for most beautiful parks in Italy 2009. On the west side of the palace there is the church of San Francesco di Paola, which is part of a complex once the convent of the Frati Minimi, founded in 1605 by Andrea Matteo Acquaviva, now a military hospital. Pope Benedict XIII in 1727 stopped here and Luigi Vanvitelli is buried here however, is not certain in what part of the church.
Return to Sorrento in the afternoon or late afternoon.