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For five months in 1944, the mountain above our estate was the most contested ground in Europe. Four battles, armies from half the world, an abbey destroyed and a town erased — this is the story of Monte Cassino, told for the visitor standing where it happened. Winter 1943–44 Why here: the Gustav Line By the end of 1943, the Allied armies...

The armies that fought for Monte Cassino came from half the world, and the valley still holds their dead. Within a few miles of the abbey lie the cemeteries of four nations — among the most moving places in Italy. This is where they are, what to expect at each, and how to visit them with the respect they are owed. Why...

Montecassino has been destroyed four times in fifteen centuries — by invaders, by raiders, by earthquake, and by war. Its answer to history has always been the same. This is the story of the abbey above our estate, from one man climbing a mountain in 529 AD to the basilica that stands today. c. 529 AD Benedict climbs the mountain Benedict of...

Italian food gets paired with wine by default. But Italy has been brewing since the monks of Montecassino grew barley in the sixth century — and at the table, a well-chosen beer can do things wine cannot. The Case for Beer Why beer belongs at the Italian table The argument is carbonation. Italian cooking loves richness — olive oil, melted cheese, cured...

Fifteen centuries of European history stand on one mountaintop above Cassino: the monastery where Western monasticism began, destroyed four times, rebuilt four times, and today one of the most moving places you can visit in Italy. This is how to do it properly — the history, the battle, the cemeteries, the practicalities, and where to eat when you come down — written...

The trouble with buying for a beer lover is that they have usually tried everything on the supermarket shelf. The answer is a beer they haven't — one that arrives with fifteen centuries of story attached. Why Italian Abbey Beer A gift with a story A good beer gift does two things: it tastes like a discovery, and it gives the drinker...