MONTE CASSINO 



5301 



MONTE GRAPPA 



Monte Carlo. Monaco. The casino, containing the famous gaming rooms 



'Irs. One of the most fre- 

 <inentc,| f-orta of the Riviera, it 

 has an excellent climate, and is 

 IK-!.-. I for the gaming rooms in its 

 casino, which, built in 1878, 

 in. I adorned with beautiful statu- 

 ary and paintings, contains also 

 theatre, rcMtliiiir room, etc. Rou- 

 lette and trente-et-quartmte are 

 the chief games played. Besides 

 numerous hotels, the town has a 

 large palais des beaux-arts. A rly. 

 runs to La Turbie, a mt. village 2 

 m. to the N.W. Pop. 9,600. See 

 Casino; Monaco. 



Monte Cassino. Monastery near 

 Cassino, Italy. Situated on a hill 

 1,703 ft. high, about 45 m. N.W. 

 of Naples it was founded by S. 

 Benedict in 529, on the site of a 

 temple of Apollo, and was the 

 first monastery of the Benedictine 

 order. Destroyed and rebuilt 

 several times, the existing build- 

 ings, notable for their imposing 

 size, arcaded courts and cloister, 

 and great church, date from 1637- 

 1727. Its golden days were in the 

 llth century under Abbot Desi- 

 derius, later Pope Victor III. 

 Since 1886 a national monument, 

 it is an educational centre of im- 

 portance. The church is rich in 

 marbles, mosaics, sculptures, paint- 

 ings, and frescoes, and has beau- 

 tifully carved choir stalls. The 

 fine library contains more than 

 10,000 volumes, many rare MSS., 

 including the 12th century work 

 by Alberic which is said to have 

 suggested to Dante the central 

 idea of his Divina Commedia, a 

 collection of papal bulls, and other 

 treasures. See Storia della badia di 

 Monte Cassino, L. Tosti, 1842-43. 



Montecatini. Health resort 

 and spa of Italy, in the prov. of 

 Lucca. It is 19 m. by rly. E. of 

 Lucca. The warm mineral springs, 

 in the Nievole Valley, have been 

 in use since the 14th century, and 

 are beneficial in abdominal com- 

 plaints, scrofula, etc. Pop. 3,400. 

 There is a village of this name in 

 the prov. of Pisa, 24 m. E.S.E. of 

 Leghorn. It is noted for its 

 warm saline springs. In the 

 vicinity are copper mines, worked 

 since the 15th century. 



Monte Cristo. Small island of 

 the Tuscan Archipelago N.W. 

 Italy. It lies 26 m. S. of Elba, has 



an area of 6 sq. m. and an alt. of 

 2,120ft. It contains many springs, 

 and the ruins of a monastery, 

 destroyed by Corsairs in the 16th 

 century. It is the ancient Oglasa. 

 Monte Cristo, COUNT OF. Ro- 

 mance by Alexandra Dumas the 

 elder ^assisted by A. Maquet), 1845. 

 The hero is a Marseilles sailor, who 

 afterwards becomes Count of Monte 

 Cristo, and poses in various rdles 

 during a succession of wonderful 

 adventures. The story is perhaps 

 the best of the many works of the 

 great master of French romance. 



Monte Croce. Pass in the Dolo- 

 mite Alps, in Italy. It is a fine 

 carriage road leading from Pri- 

 miero hi Tirol to Feltre in Belluno. 

 Its alt. is 1,830 ft. It was the scene 

 of fighting in the Great War be- 

 tween the Austrians and Italians 

 in 1915. See Dolomites. 



Montecuculi OR MONTECUCCOLI, 

 RAIMONDO, COUNT OF (1609-80). 

 Austrian soldier. Born Feb. 21, 

 1609, at Mon- 

 tecuculi, Italy, 

 h e belonged 

 to an old 

 noble family. 

 About 1625 he 

 entered the 

 Austrian serv- 

 ice and under 

 his uncle, 

 Count of Montecuculi, Count Ernst, 

 Austrian soldier soon saw fight- 

 ing, his service being almost contin- 

 uous throughout the Thirty Years' 

 War. He was present at the battles 

 between the Imperialists and the 

 Swedes, including Lutzen, where he 

 was wounded, and save for a period 

 during which he was a prisoner, he 

 was in the field until the year of 

 1648, being then a general. In 

 1657-60 he had a command against 

 the Swedes, but his reputation rest* 

 upon his campaigns against the 

 Turks and the French, especially on 

 his great victory over the former 

 at St. Gotthard in 1664. Between 

 1672-75 he was commanding the 

 Austriajis against the French under 

 Turenne, but after taking Philips- 

 burg he retired. Made a prince 

 and duke of Melfi, he died Oct. 16, 

 1680. Montecuculi wrote a valu- 

 able work on war, and books on 

 other subjects. His works were 

 published at Milan in 1807. 



Sir Moses Montefiore, 

 Jewish philanthropist 



Monte della Disgrazia (ItaL, 

 Mount of Misfortune). Mountain 

 mam of Italy, in the prov. of Son- 

 drio. It haa an alt. of 12,006 ft., 

 and lies N.W. of Sondrio and W. of 

 the Val Malenco. See Alps. 



Montefiascone (ItaL, bottle 

 mountain). City of Italy, in the 

 prov. of Rome. It stands on a hill 

 at an alt of 2,010 ft. at the 8.E. 

 side of Lake Bolsena, with a rly. 

 station 9 m. N. of Viterbo. The 

 unfinished cathedral dates from 

 1519, and the church of 8. Flaviano 

 from 1032. The city is noted for its 

 muscatel wine. Pop. 9,600. 



Montefiore, Si it MOSES HAIM 

 (1784-1885). Jewish philanthro- 

 pist. The eldest son of a merchant, 

 Joseph Kli.i- 

 Montefiore, he 

 was born at 

 Leghorn, Oct. 

 24, 1784, but 

 his early life 

 was passed in 

 London, where 

 his family had 

 settled. He be- 

 came a stock- 

 broker and, re- 

 lated by marriage to the Roth 

 schilds, soon made a fortune and 

 retired from business. In 1837 

 he was sheriff of London, being 

 made a knight, and in 1846 he 

 became a baronet. A centenarian, 

 and a strict Jew to the end, he died 

 July 28, 1885. Montefiore's fame 

 rests upon the work he did for the 

 Jews throughout the world. He 

 visited Palestine in their interests, 

 also Turkey, Russia, and other 

 countries, and his labours and 

 charity relieved many of them 

 from persecution and distress. 



Montefrio. Town of Spain, in 

 the prov. of Granada. It stands on 

 the Bilano river 25 m. N.W. of 

 Granada. It was a frontier fortress 

 of the Moors, whose castle still 

 stands. Alcohol, cotton, and soap 

 are manufactured. Pop. 11,000. 



Monte Grappa, BATTLES OF. 

 Fought between the Italians and 

 the Austro-Germans 1917-18. The 

 mountain which gives its name to 

 this series of battles is the highest 

 in a range between the valleys of 

 the Brenta and the Piave, Italy. 

 The first battle, fought Nov. 11-28, 

 1917, was a continuation of the 

 battle of Caporetto (q.v. ). 



The Italian High Command at 

 this time was apprehensive that 

 the Austro-Germans would try to 

 break through on the northern 

 frontier, and strike in behind 

 their line on the Piave. As soon 

 as Below's troops were advancing 

 W. from Saga into Carnia, the 

 Italians were obliged to withdraw 

 from Carnia and Cadore, and take 

 up a line further S. As the 



