Montecassino e l’architettura campana di XI secolo: il caso di San Benedetto a Salerno

This paper summarizes the results of my M. A. thesis on the historical and architectural connections the monastery of San Benedetto in Salerno had with Montecassino. The object of the paper is the diffusion of the basilical plan in Campania and generally southern Italy in the Middle Ages - an issue often related to the rebuilding of the abbey of Montecassino by abbot Desiderius (†1087). Here I introduce the hypothesis that the reconstruction of San Benedetto, undertaken in the mid-eleventh century, has neither cultural nor material connections with Desiderius’ project. In fact, I believe that San Benedetto reveals a dependence on southern Italian architectural tradition, in which Byzantium had played a substantial role.