Pope Departs for Summer Vacation

After completing his Sunday duties, the Holy Father departed for Castel Gandolfo, located in the Alban Hills, approximately 25 kilometers from Rome.

There, in the Papal Apostolic Palace, popes traditionally spend part of the summer months, taking advantage of the time set aside for rest and prayer.

Pope's Secret Garden

Castel Gandolfo is a small town with a population of just 7,000.

The first pope to spend his holidays in the palace was Urban VIII, in May 1626. It was he who decided that the pope's holidays should be spent "at the castle" and made the Palace itself "Apostolic."

Built around the year 1000 by the Gandolfi family, the palace was sold in 1200 to Cardinal Giacomo Savelli who in 1285 ascended to the throne of Peter choosing the name Honorius IV.

In 1500, the Apostolic Chamber expropriated the entire building from the Savellis due to their huge debts. Since then, apart from the period from the end of the Papal State (1870) to the signing of the Lateran Pacts (1929), it has been owned by the Vatican.

After 1929, Pius XI carried out important consolidation and renovation works on the Palace to adapt it to new needs and to establish connections between the three parks on the premises: the Giardino del Moro, Villa Cybo and Villa Barberini.

In 1934, the pope also transferred the Vatican Astronomical Observatory, entrusted to the astronomers of the Jesuit Order, from Vatican City to Castel Gandolfo because of electric lighting brightening the night skies over Rome.

Jesuits operate the Observatory to this day "to support science and to show the world and the Church that faith and science go together."

From here, in 1932, Guglielmo Marconi made the first live radiotelephone connection with microwave technology from the observatory to Vatican City.

"The children of the Pope"

During World War II the surrounding Alban Hills became a battlefield with the German occupation. In this time, Pius XII opened the Palace as refuge to the local population.

He also left his own private apartment, including his sleeping area, available to refugees.

On the papal bed refugee expectant mothers were accommodated to give birth and forty children were born there, and consequently called by all "the children of the Pope".

The Private Apartment

The rooms where for over five centuries the popes spent their summer holidays are today accessible to the general public.

Initiated by Pope Francis in 2014, the exceptional opening to the general public of the Apostolic Palace and the Secret Garden of Castel Gandolfo, aims to expand the cultural offerings for visitors, families, schools, university students and pilgrims, leading them to discover priceless artistic and historical treasures.

In 2016 the Apostolic Palace also became accessible for the first time in history. The visit includes the Private Apartment and the Gallery of Papal Portraits, which narrate places that have been inaccessible for centuries, in addition to the Secret Garden.

Audiences suspended

The Prefecture of the Papal Household has announced that all general, private and special audiences are suspended during the stay of Pope Leo XIV in Castel Gandolfo.

Wednesday audiences with the faithful at St. Peter's Square will resume on August 5th, when the Holy Father will resume his regular schedule of public appearances.

During his July vacation, Leo XIV will preside over the Sunday Angelus prayer in Piazza della Libertà in Castel Gandolfo. There, he will meet with the faithful and pilgrims arriving at the papal residence.

In the summer of 2025, Pope Leo XIV spent 16 days at Villa Barberini in Castel Gandolfo. During that time, he continued to carry out some public engagements.

That period was also marked by several important meetings, including one with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom the Pope received at Villa Barberini, and a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the Israeli attack on the Holy Family Church in Gaza.