Monte Cassino is a European asset. This concluding statement needs little qualification. It is an observation informed by the various arguments underwriting this book, which have charted the evolution of this triumphalist idea from the abbey's origins to the present day. Rebuilt after its most recent destruction during the Second World War, the abbey's current incarnation is on full public display. Overlooking the Liri Valley, the Land of Labour, the confluence of the Rivers Liri, Rapido, and Garigliano, the hastily rebuilt – and now languishing – town of Cassino, and various prominent military cemeteries (Polish and American), it stands as an historic monument engineered to the point of iconic veneration. It is certainly not what it once was or intended to be; although the historical (Benedictine) records like to represent a continuity of tradition, the abbey's manifold experience with destruction and recovery reveals a profound transformation of historical meaning and value.

Monte Cassino is an impressive ‘workshop’ and product of human imagination, memory, and industry. Its historical and religious significance has metamorphosised over fourteen centuries into an international product for cultural consumption and appreciation. Universal recognition of its exalted cultural, historical, and religious status has made it a popular tourist destination. The abbey's website boasts that ‘thousands of pilgrims and visitors from all around the world come to this threshold’ every day of the year. They walk through the cloisters, visit the Basilica which claims to house the tombs of Saints Benedict and Scholastica, then journey below to its crypt and view the rich mosaics.