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Secondary sourcePainting1600

Saint Benedict of Nursia Tramples on the Image of Apollo

1600

A 1600 ceiling fresco illustrating the story of Benedict destroying a pagan shrine of Apollo to found his monastery at Monte Cassino.

Illustrates the legendary story of Benedict destroying a pagan shrine of Apollo to found his monastery at Monte Cassino.

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Ceiling fresco in an octagonal framed medallion. A figure in a black habit raises a hand among onlookers. In the upper left, a robed figure holds a glowing chalice near a cross. At right, a man in red raises a club over a fallen statue. Gilded stucco frames surround it.
Saint Benedict of Nursia Tramples on the Image of Apollo, fresco, 1600. Nostra Signora della Concordia, Albissola Marina.

About this source

What it is

This ceiling fresco, painted in 1600, decorates the church of Nostra Signora della Concordia in Albissola Marina. It shows a figure in a monk's habit among onlookers, with a man raising a club over a fallen statue, illustrating Pope Gregory's account of Benedict destroying a pagan shrine dedicated to Apollo on Monte Cassino.

Why it matters

The fresco illustrates one of the most famous stories told about Benedict: his destruction of an ancient pagan shrine as the founding act of his monastery at Monte Cassino. The scene, based on Gregory the Great's biography, shows how later generations understood Benedict's monastic mission as directly replacing older pagan religion with Christian worship.

Look closer

  • What details in the fresco show the statue being destroyed, and what might this symbolise?
  • Why would a church choose this particular story to paint on its ceiling?
  • How does this image depend on written accounts of Benedict's life, rather than direct evidence from his own time?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saint Benedict on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Open pages of a medieval Latin manuscript on aged parchment, with handwritten black text in columns, red initials and rubrics, and a large decorated illuminated initial on the left page. The text appears to be a copy of a monastic rule.Book

Primary source

Rule of Saint Benedict

Benedict of Nursia · c. 600

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Secondary source

Monte Cassino

founded c. 529/530

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Secondary source

Fresco Cycle of the Life of St Benedict at Monte Oliveto Maggiore

Luca Signorelli and Sodoma · 1497-1505 (fresco cycle); abbey founded 1313

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Reliquary of Saint Benedict at Fleury

A large, wrinkled parchment spread out on a dark background, with faded reddish and brown ink lines forming architectural plans of buildings, rooms, and circular features. Some handwritten text is visible at the lower left edge.Artifact

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Plan of Saint Gall

c. 820-830

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