Grottaferrata (a town of approximately 21,000 inhabitants in the Castelli Romani, Metropolitan City of Rome. 20km southeast of Rome on Via Tuscolana, at 329m altitude in the Colli Albani volcanic hills) has the most theologically unusual religious institution in the Castelli Romani: the Abbey of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata, the Basilian monastery founded in 1004 by Saint Nilus of Rossano (the Calabrian Greek monk who fled the Arab raids of southern Italy with his community and established the first Byzantine-Greek monastic foundation in central Lazio), which has maintained the Byzantine-Greek liturgical rite continuously for over 1,000 years and is one of only two surviving Basilian monasteries in Italy (the other being the Monastery of San Giovanni in Bivongi in Calabria). The Abbey of Grottaferrata is in full communion with Rome (it is a Greek Catholic institution, not Orthodox, but using the Byzantine rite within the Catholic Church framework), which gives it the specific theological status of a Roman Catholic monastery that celebrates the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom in Greek, with the Paschal troparion, the Byzantine chant tradition, and the iconostasis that the Eastern Orthodox tradition uses.
The specific Grottaferrata experience for the visitor who goes beyond the standard Castelli Romani agenda: attending the Sunday morning Divine Liturgy in the monastery church (the liturgy in Byzantine Greek, with the Basilian monks' choir performing the specific chant tradition that has been maintained at Grottaferrata for 1,020+ years) is one of the most singular religious experiences available within 30km of Rome.
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Grottaferrata: The Abbey, the Liturgy, and the Frescoes
The Abbey Architecture and Domenichino Frescoes
The Abbey of Grottaferrata (the fortified monastery complex in the center of the Grottaferrata historic town, the walls, the towers, and the moat that the Farnese-period transformation of the monastery into a fortified complex added to the original 11th-century structures) has two primary architectural experiences: the fortified exterior (the walls and the Torrione Farnese, the tower built in the 1540s when Cardinal Alessandro Farnese transformed the monastery into a fortified refuge, visible from the town square) and the interior of the church of Santa Maria (the 11th-century church with the 12th-century Byzantine mosaic in the narthex, the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem in the specific Byzantine mosaic style that Saint Nilus's community brought from Calabria, and the Chapel of the Farnese, decorated by Domenico Zampieri. Domenichino, with his fresco cycle of the Life of Saint Nilus, painted between 1608 and 1610 and considered among Domenichino's finest works in his pre-Palazzo Farnese phase).
The Byzantine Liturgy Visit
The Sunday Divine Liturgy at Grottaferrata (the Byzantine-Greek rite Mass, typically at 10:30 on Sunday mornings, but check the abbey website abbaziagreca.it for the current schedule): the liturgy is celebrated in the monastery church, open to visitors who enter respectfully (head covered for women. Quiet observation throughout the service). The specific Byzantine liturgy elements that differentiate it from the Roman rite Latin Mass: the sung rather than spoken liturgy (the entire service is chanted, not spoken, the specific Byzantine Greek melody of the Grottaferrata Basilian tradition is a sound unlike any other liturgical music available in central Italy), the incense use (more extensive than in Roman rite Masses), and the iconostasis (the screen of icons that separates the sanctuary from the nave, the priest celebrates the liturgy on the sanctuary side of the screen, emerging through the Royal Doors at specific moments).
Q&A: Grottaferrata Monastery
Can I attend the Sunday liturgy at Grottaferrata without a specific religious affiliation?
Yes, the Grottaferrata Divine Liturgy is open to all respectful visitors. The Basilian community at Grottaferrata has a long tradition of welcoming visitors to the monastery and the liturgy. The practical guidelines: arrive 10-15 minutes before the scheduled start. Enter the church quietly. Remain standing for most of the liturgy (the Byzantine tradition has minimal seating, some chairs along the walls for those who need them). Don't receive communion unless you are a baptized Catholic or Orthodox Christian. Photography inside the church during the liturgy isn't appropriate.
Curiosità
Il Santo Nilo da Rossano (circa 910-1004) era uno dei monaci più celebri della tradizione italo-greca calabrese, i monaci che praticavano il rito greco nell'Italia meridionale occupata prima dai Longobardi e poi dai Normanni. Prima di fondare Grottaferrata, Nilo incontrò l'Imperatore Ottone III (il giovane imperatore tedesco che sognava la renovatio imperii romana) a Frascati nel 1000 e rifiutò l'offerta imperiale di un'abbazia. Nilo morì nel 1004 senza vedere completata la fondazione. Il suo discepolo Bartolomeo completò la costruzione e garantì la continuità della comunità.
Internal Links
- Castelli Romani: Ariccia e il Barocco Berniniano
- Castelli Romani: Albano e il Lago Vulcanico
- Monachesimo Italiano: Dal Benedetto al Basilio
- Grottaferrata Fuori Stagione: Il Monastero in Inverno
- Fotografare il Monastero di Grottaferrata
- Domenichino a Grottaferrata: Gli Affreschi Nilo
- Castelli Romani: Grottaferrata oltre il Vino
