GROTTAFERRATA  , a

village of Italy, in the province of Rome, from which it is 13 M . S.E. by electric tramway, and 24m . S. of Frascati, to8o ft. above sea-level, in the Alban Hills . Pop . (1901) 2645 . It is noticeable for the Greek monastery of Basilians founded by S . Nilus in 1002 under the Emperor Otho III., and which occupies the site of a large Roman villa, possibly that of Cicero . It was fortified at the end of the 15th century by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (afterwards Pope Julius II.), whose arms may be seen about it . The massive towers added by him give it a picturesque appearance . The church belongs to the 12th century, and the original portal, with a mosaic over it, is still preserved; the interior was restored in 1574 and in 1754, but there are some remains of frescoes of the 13th century . The chapel of S . Nilus contains frescoes by Domenico Zampieri (Domenichino) of 161o, illustrating the life of the saint, which are among his most important works .

The

abbot's palace has a fine Renaissance portico, and contains an interesting museum of local antiquities . The library contains valuable MSS., among them one from the hand of S . Nilus (965); and a palaeographical school, for the copying of MSS. in the ancient style, is maintained . An omophorion of the Ltth or 12th century, with scenes from the Gospel in needlework, and a chalice of the 15th century with enamels, given by Cardinal Bessarion, the predecessor of Giuliano della Rovere as commendatory of the abbey, are among its treasures . An important exhibition of Italo-Byzantine art was held here in 1905-1906 . See A . Rocchi, La Badia di Grottaferrata (Rome, 1884) ; A . Munoz, L'Art byzantin a l'exposition de Grottaferrata (Rome, 1905); T . Ashby in Papers of the British School at Rome, iv . (1907) . (T .