
In Roman times, this area was occupied by the rich aristocratic Roman villas such as Marcus Tullius Cicero. By the fifth century AD, on the ruins of a Roman villa, was born a small village whose name comes from a tomb protected by iron gratings: the "Crypta Ferrata". Until the nineteenth century Grottaferrata was the only settlement near the majestic abbey founded by St. Nilus on land donated to the monks by the Count of Tusculum. The Abbey has been repeatedly sacked: in 1155 by William I of Sicily, in 1163 by Frederick Barbarossa, and in 1241 by Emperor Frederick II of Swabia. The German and French also contributed to the destruction. To protect the Abbey, Giuliano della Rovere (later Pope Julius II) built a wall that still surrounds the monastery. Since 1605 the Abbey was subjected to the Command of the Colonna, then of the Farnese, Cardinal Barberini, until the Consalvi. In 1856 was formed the Società Anonima delle Cartiere di Grottaferrata e Subiaco (Anonymous Society of Papermakers of Grottaferrata and Subiaco) where the Papal State banknotes were printed. After 1870, the sale of land confiscated by the Italian State has led to a great fragmentation of the territory and it became a place of numerous religious houses and a vacation spot for the rich Roman bourgeoisie who completed the cycle and built numerous "villas". Nel 1856 nacque la Società Anonima delle Cartiere di Grottaferrata e Subiaco in cui si stampavano le banconote dello Stato Pontificio.
# specialfood

Frascati Wine
Viticulture in the Castelli was born with land allocations to veterans of wars, starting with…

Pangiallo
Pangiallo is a sweet with ancient origins dating back to Imperial Rome. It prepared during…
# specialarts

The Abbey of San Nilo
In 1004 St. Nilo the Younger, hegumen (head of the Abbey) of the Greek Byzantine…

Grottaferrata Borghetto
The castle was probably built around the ninth or the tenth century by the Counts…

Villa Arrigoni-Muti
The villa is named after the first owner, the Cardinal Arrigoni who bought it in…

Villa Gavotti - Gioacchini
In the sixteenth century this villa was a country casino family Laghi. In 1614 it…

Villa Grazioli
The villa was built in 1580 by Cardinal Carafa, and after several changes of ownership,…

Church of the Sacred Heart
It was built in 1918 by Maria Santovetti Tanlongo. The style is neo-Gothic and the…
# specialfun

Archaeological Museum
In the Abbey of San Nilo is an archaeological museum with a rich collection of…

Tusculum Archaeological excavations
Located atop a hill with a wonderful view towards the sea, are the ruins of…

Catacombs ad Decimum
The catacombs were found at the 'tenth' mile of the ancient via Latina (today Via…