Cassino
[key], town, in Latium, central Italy, in the Apennines, on the Rapido
River. It is a commercial and agricultural center, and the site of a Fiat
auto assembly plant. The peace between Emperor Frederick II and Pope Gregory
IX was signed there in 1230. During World War II (late 1943) the town and
the nearby Benedictine abbey of Monte Cassino were strongly defended by
Germans blocking the Allied advance on Rome. After five months of
concentrated ground attacks and attempts to divert German troops by landings
at Anzio and Nettuno, the Allies finally captured the
German positions in May, 1944. Cassino was reduced to rubble but was largely
rebuilt. Of note is the cathedral (18th cent., rebuilt after 1944), which
contains the alleged remains of St. Benedict and his sister St. Scholastica.
Until 1871, Cassino was called San Germano.
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