Casinum was an ancient town of Oscan origin in southern Italy's Latium adiectum, about forty miles northwest of Capua along the Via Latina, later held by the Volsci and then the Samnites before receiving Roman citizenship around 188 BC; the geographer Strabo called it the last city of the Latins, and the grammarian Varro recorded its name as meaning old forum in the Oscan language. The town was known for olive oil production, and its ancient acropolis became the site of the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino, founded by Saint Benedict in 529 AD. The medieval successor town of San Germano took the name Cassino in 1871 and occupies the site today.
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