Grottaferrata On the trail

The last Byzantine abbey near Rome, founded in 1004

Grottaferrata

The liturgy here is still sung in Greek. Monks from the south founded the abbey a millennium ago, and it is the last of the Byzantine houses that once ran the length of Italy.

How the day goes

  1. The abbey church keeps its Greek rite, and its mosaic sits above the door.
  2. The courtyard and the fortified walls came later, when it needed defending.
  3. The museum alongside covers the abbey and the territory around it.

The church and the museum keep different opening times, so it is worth deciding which one you came for before you set off.

Where it is

Grottaferrata at its real position from Rome, with everywhere else we list behind it — so you can see how far out this one is.

Grottaferrata, and where it is from Rome Grottaferrata drawn at its real position relative to Rome, about 33 minutes by car. The faint dots are the other places we list, so you can see how far out this one is. 33 min Rome Grottaferrata

Open it where the roads are

Takes you to Corso del Popolo, 128, 00046 Grottaferrata (RM), the address the operator publishes.

Getting there

Getting there, the comfortable way

  • 33 mindrive from the middle of Rome
  • 21 kmeach way
  • Rent a car for the day

    The day stays yours: you leave when you want, stop where you want, and come back when the light goes.

    • You pick it up in Rome and drop it back in Rome
    • No timetable to build the day around
    • The stops on the way are the good part, and they need a car

    Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Localrent, and anything about that booking goes through them.

    See prices on Localrent
  • Have a driver take you, door to door

    No parking to find, no wrong turns, and you leave when the day is done.

    • Picked up where you are staying, dropped back there
    • No parking to find and no ZTL to worry about
    • Nobody spends the day driving

    Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Welcome Pickups, and anything about that booking goes through them.

    See prices on Welcome Pickups

Also around Grottaferrata

A child in a harness crossing a rope bridge between trees On the trail

A morning in the trees

Clip into a harness and cross the trees: from age four there is a course to do.

€5 per person

Books on ViviAvventura

See the day

More on the trail

A stony ridge path across open highland On the trail

Monte Soratte from Sant'Oreste

6.8 km and 691 metres of climbing, with a guide and never more than ten of you.

€49 per person

Books on Nature of Sal — Salvatore Benintende

See the day

We have not verified this one yet. Everything below comes from the operator and we have not checked it — treat it as a lead, not as a listing.

Photograph by Gino il Pio, Wikimedia Commons — Public domain. Not this place: it shows what the day looks like, and will be replaced with the operator's own photograph or ours from the field.

Links marked affiliate pay us a commission — you pay the operator's own price and we never take your money. How we rank