ABSTRACT
It was a common thing in those days for monks to wander from district to district and even from country to country. By this means the individual monk was enabled to see men and cities and enlarge his mind, while, at the same time, he got exercise and improved his health; the monastic community, too, benefited by interchange of ideas and was enlivened by news from the outer world. The doors of a monastery were always kept wide open to a wandering brother of the order; so Bruno, escaped from Naples, would find no difficulty in obtaining hospitality. He boldly claimed it at the actual headquarters of his order. The church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva stands on the site of a ruined temple, opposite another which has only been robbed of its gilded tiles and its gods: it and its famous monastery confront the yet more famous temple of Agrippa.
