VATICAN CORNER
Since 2013, Pope Francis has preferred to spend his summers in the same Vatican hotel where he lives the rest of the year and not to vacation at the traditional papal retreat that has been used for centuries – Castel Gandolfo, a lakeside palace and town 12 miles south of Rome. Some people have suggested various reasons for this action such as that he is a workaholic, a homebody, he does not like to be alone, and that the summer palace is too luxurious and not in keeping with his wish to create a “poor church”. But as a consequence, the small surround town with about 8,000 people has experienced an economic downturn since the Pope no longer visits it in summer and he no longer holds weekly Sunday prayers there. Many of the locals are frustrated because they relied on the visitors that the papal vacations would bring. There are fewer pilgrims coming but there still are tourist and they come to visit the Vatican’s Villa Barberini, and gardens, but as one restaurant worker put it, if the Pope is in Rome, they’d rather go to Rome. Castel Gandolfo is a complex that overlooks Lake Albano and it is what is left of the enormous villa of the Roman Emperor Domitian, and that villa is actually larger than the entire Vatican City. The complex has beautifully groomed gardens, an arboretum, natural conservatories, museums, fish ponds, the Vatican’s Astronomical Observatory, and 25 dairy cattle, which are reputed to produce some of the finest milk in Europe. It has an Apostolic Palace, stunning works of religious art, and even moon rocks collected during the Apollo XVII mission. In 1596, Pope Clement VIII seized the complex from the Savelli family in lieu of unpaid debts, according to the Vatican’s official history. The surrounding town is named for the castle of the Gandolfi family of Genoa, which was built around 1200. It was originally a fortress against marauders, which explains its high walls and other ancient barriers. The town has narrow streets, a host of restaurants and souvenir shops. The Vatican realizing the economic impact the Pope’s absence was having on the town has tried to improve the situation. With the help of Italy’s railway, the Vatican has established a weekly train service, open to the public, between the Vatican railway station and the Castel. Also a new papal portrait gallery was opened to the public in the Apostolic Palace of the Castel. It features oil paintings of popes dating back to the 16th century. It also has vestments, thrones and even the enormous slippers of Pope Clement XII. It also has on display the fancy costumes of the papal court that was abolished in 1968. Tour packages run from 18 to 45 dollars and must be booked online in advance through the Vatican Museums.
Source: religiousnews.com, theguardian.com, nbcnews.com, dailymail.co.uk.