How realistic is a day trip to the Benedictine monastery in Subiaco during our 6-day stay in Rome? How do we get there and back? We will be staying in the Vatican area.

There are Cotral buses that go to Subiaco. The leave from the metro stop Ponte Mammolo on the B line. Takes 1 hour 15 min. You can check the schedule on the Cotral site.

The site can be a little hard to understand. You have to put in the city/town and also chose a stop. Put in Roma (not Rome) and Ponte Mammolo and then Subiaco. It will show you the stops in Subiaco and you'll have to chose one. I have no idea which is the closest to the monasteries. Anyone? I've only been by car.

Steph

Hi
If I remember correctly, the monastery lies at least two to three kms uphill from Subiaco.
I have just tried using the Cotral site and talk about confusing. I followed your instructions Steph and put in Subiaco Piazza Roma (Piazza Roma is always a good bet) and it came up with stop unknown or 'to' many stops! As it had given me the opportunity to put in the said stop, I was a little bemused when I was given this information.
I tried doing it in Italian and the same thing happened. Who designs these websites and do they ever let an ordinary member of the public try to use them?
Can I say, however, that the monastery is well worth the trip, but don't forget that it will probably close for two to three hours during the middle of the day!

One of the tour books says the monastery is east of town. Is it logical to assume then that one would get off at the last stop in Subiaco and walk the rest of the way? You're right - it's hard to unravel the Cotral schedule.

According to the web site, the Benedictine Monasteries in Subiaco are just to the east and south of town. You may need to get a cab from town.

Here is a link to a map on the web site....

Benedictine Monasteries in Subiaco