Candidacy of the Benedictine Monasteries of Subiaco for the European Heritage Label 2025

The Benedictine Monasteries of Subiaco, Santa Scolastica and San Benedetto Sacro Speco, are among the eleven Italian projects nominated for the European Heritage Label, a prestigious award given by the European Commission to those sites that have special symbolic value and play an important role in the history and culture of Europe.

The Regional Directorate National Museums Lazio participates in the selection as the proposing party with the two National Monuments of Subiaco, for which it is responsible for the protection and enhancement.

Immersed in a landscape of rare beauty, the monasteries represent the cradle of Western monasticism, of which Benedict of Norcia was the creator and master. It was during his stay in Subiaco that he defined the principles of the Rule, founded onora et labora, which shaped all European monasticism. Recognizing this merit, Pope Paul VI declared him Europe's principal patron saint in 1964. The Benedictine example produced an unparalleled spread of monasteries, an extraordinary heritage that testifies over the centuries to the vitality of the institution born in the Sublacensis territory. The abbeys built throughout Europe, thanks to the action of St. Benedict's followers, represent an essential chapter of Western Christian architecture.

The project presented by the Directorate, mainly educational in nature and elaborated in consultation with the religious community, is aimed at raising awareness of the European relevance of the Subiaco Monasteries among the different types of audiences who visit on a daily basis. To this end, differentiated actions will be proposed for heterogeneous user targets. At schools and local communities, it will be important to stimulate a sense of belonging to the local heritage, on the theme of conscious citizenship and the importance of the transmission of cultural values to future generations. Tours, workshops, lectures, conferences, participation in European Heritage Days and Stories of European Heritage Days will have a common matrix: to promote the contribution made by the Monasteries to the social, economic and cultural development of Europe. For better accessibility, the educational and communication apparatus at the sites will be renewed, as well as producing multilingual information materials, including by resorting to the use of new technologies.

By March 1, 2025, a ministerial committee will select a maximum of two sites, from among eleven Italian applications, to be submitted to the European Commission for evaluation, which, by the end of the year, must announce the sites deserving the award of the Seal.