Perspective

Today we had our first Hotel breakfast. I have been to Europe a few times before and so I knew what to expect as far as coffee goes... espresso and Cafe Au Lait basically. I also knew we would have cold cuts, cheese, and pastries for breakfast.

We all boarded the bus and headed out on a 2 hour drive to the Abbey at Monte Cassino. We read in the book The Day of Battle by Rick Atkinson, the circumstances around the allied bombing of the historic Abbey. The Allies made a difficult decision to bomb the Abbey fearing the Germans were using it to defend their famed Gustav Line. As it turned out, they were not using it and many pieces of art and history were lost as a result. To see it in person was quite something.

The approach to Monte Cassino above with the Abbey in the distance. The mountain was very steep and the bus driver very skilled to get us up there. The Abbey has a museum with some of the things they could recover from the bombing. The Abbey has been rebuilt.

The view from the bus about half way up to the Abbey. Professor Christopher Hamner lead a Webinar earlier in the year about the allied advance through Italy and the decision to bomb the Abbey. It was really interesting to see the country side and walk in the places where the war erupted 70 years ago. Today he raised the idea of perspective with us. He asked us to think about the different perspectives involved. The American perspective, and the individual's perspective. That lead us to the Polish War Cemetery.

Above, Professor Hamner addresses the group.

 The inside of the Abbey, the courtyard

The view from the Abbey

Inside the Abbey

 Another view from the courtyard

From the Museum inside the Abbey

 Statue inside the courtyard of the Abbey

 One of the artifacts recovered from the bombing

View of the abbey from the Polish War Cemetery 

Polish War Cemetery as seen from the Abbey

Within view of the Abbey is a Polish Cemetery where Polish soldiers who fought to defend the Abbey and against the Germans in Italy are buried. This is a very interesting cemetery and can be compared to the various American Battle Monuments Commission Cemeteries throughout Europe where Americans are buried. I found this a moving place and I think a very nice tribute. Its clear that the designers wanted the graves to be in view of the Abbey which was so important to them for religious as well as military reasons. The graves are in the grey area below and the grassy area above contains that cross with a symbol of majestic bird in the middle. Below are a few shots I took of the Cemetery.

After visiting the cemetery we rode back into Rome and had some time to do a bit more exploring. It was about 100 degrees, but we went for a walk anyway! We found the famous Trevi Fountain, along with many others.

Next we went to the historic Pantheon. This building is one of the oldest and best preserved buildings in Rome.

Inside the dome of the Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

We took a nice walk around Rome and saw some other interesting things. It was really hot, but it got much better in the evening as it cooled down.

This is the restaurant we went to

Spaghetti

Tiramisu

Tomorrow we visit the Sicily Rome American Cemetery and the first group of folks give their Eulogies for the camera. I will be saying a few brief remarks at the grave of Captain Joseph berry and will record them. I look forward to seeing his final resting place! Wednesday morning we leave for Florence!