Editing Monte Cassino (section)

===Ancient history===
[[File:Monte Cassino 2010-by-RaBoe-12.jpg|thumb|280px|Cliff on "high mountain"]]

{{Main|Casinum}}

The history of Monte Cassino is linked to the nearby town of Cassino which was first settled in the fifth century BC by the [[Volsci]] people who held much of central Italy. It was they who first built a citadel on the summit of Monte Cassino. The Volsci in the area were defeated by the Romans in 312 BC. The Romans named the settlement [[Casinum]] and built a temple to Apollo at the citadel. Modern excavations have found no remains of the temple, but monumental remains of an amphitheatre, a theatre, and a mausoleum show the wealth of the Roman town.<ref name=IDHP/>

Generations after the Roman Empire adopted Christianity the town became the seat of a [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Monte Cassino|bishopric]] in the fifth century AD. Lacking strong defences the area was subject to barbarian attack and became abandoned and neglected with only a few struggling inhabitants holding out.<ref name=IDHP>{{cite book|title=International Dictionary of Historic Places: Volume 3 Southern Europe|editor1=by Trudy Ring |editor2=Robert M. Salkin |editor3=Sharon La Boda |year=1995|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers|location=Chicago, IL|page=132}}</ref>