Castel Gandolfo

Hidden within the Alban Hills that rise to the southeast of Rome is the deep blue crater lake Lago Albano. The ancient city of Alba Longa – mythically founded by Aeneas of Troy and the home of Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome – rested on its shores. Today, the hills and cliffs surrounding the lake are dotted with villages, towns, and castles collectively known as the Castelli Romani (the Roman Castles). Among the most famous of these Castelli is Castel Gandolfo, a town encompassing the north shore of the lake that has famously become connected to the papacy.

The Vatican’s connection to Castel Gandolfo began in 1596 when ownership of a thirteenth-century castle passed from the Savelli family to the Vatican in payment of a debt. For centuries, this property served as the summer residence of the pope, who, like many other residents of Rome, sought to escape the August heat of the city. The castle grounds include gardens, a functioning farm, a papal observatory, and a seventeenth-century palace designed by Carlo Maderno, who also designed the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The observatory at Castel Gandolfo was founded in the 1930s, as smog and light pollution had begun to obstruct the view offered by the Vatican’s telescopes in Rome. When the same problems began to impact the observatory at Castel Gandolfo, a second observatory was founded in southern Arizona.

The terraced gardens of the papal property overlook the lake and mirror the ancient terraced ruins of the Villa of Domitian, which date back to the end of the first century AD. Ancient buildings, walls, and paths are found throughout the gardens, including the remains of the massive cryptoporticus that served both as a grand underground hall and a massive retaining wall for the gardens.

The palace designed by Maderno served as the summer residence for many popes since its construction, notably excepting the last decades of the nineteenth century the opening decades of the twentieth century, in which popes confined themselves to the Vatican City. While recent popes have utilized Castel Gandolfo as a summer residence, Pope Francis has not. Pope Francis has visited Castel Gandolfo several times (including to visit Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who he has occasionally invited to use the residence) but has never used the palace either for retreats or vacations. In recent years, the palace has been opened to the public as a museum.