Inside the pope's centuries-old summer retreat, a 135-acre estate overlooking an Italian lake

Jul 25, 2026 - 10:00

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Inside the pope's centuries-old summer retreat, a 135-acre estate overlooking an Italian lake

Castel Gandolfo. — Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.
Simone Risoluti - Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images

Pope Leo XIV is on vacation at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.
The 135-acre estate owned by the Holy See features multiple properties and gardens.
Leo XIV is staying in Villa Barberini, a 17th-century palace with expansive gardens.

Even popes need to take vacations.

Beginning with Pope Urban VIII in 1626, some popes have chosen to escape the oppressive summer heat of Rome by spending time at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.

The lakeside residence includes multiple properties and gardens situated on a 135-acre estate.

The Vatican's Prefecture of the Papal Household said in a statement that Pope Leo XIV would spend "a period of rest" at the estate in July.

Take a look inside the papal summer residence.

Pope Leo XIV is spending three weeks at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.

Pope Leo XIV at Castel Gandolfo. — CASTEL GANDOLFO, ITALY - JULY 05: (EDITOR NOTE: STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO MERCHANDISING). Pope Leo XIV arrives at his summer residence on July 05, 2026 in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. Following yesterday's apostolic journey to Lampedusa and today's Angelus in St. Peter's Square on July 5, the Pope traveled in the afternoon to the town in Italy's Lazio region. There he will spend a period of rest until Monday, July 27, as noted in a statement from the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household.
Simone Risoluti - Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images

Leo XIV arrived on July 5 and will stay at the residence until July 27.

Located 16 miles from Rome, the papal summer residence is situated in the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Albano.

The estate features gardens, an observatory, and a newly built tennis court in addition to several residential properties.

The Apostolic Palace is located in Castel Gandolfo's main square.

The Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo. — A view of the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, on September 6, 2022. Castel Gandolfo is a town located 25 kilometres southeast of Rome in the Lazio region of Italy.
Manuel Romano/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The palace was built on the ruins of an ancient Roman emperor's villa and became part of the Holy See in 1604.

Also known as the Papal Palace, it features ornate sitting rooms and residential areas for the pope.

The pope's apartments in the Apostolic Palace. — Press preview for the international journalists before the Pope's Apartments in the Apostolic Palace open to the public. The Clock Parlor. Castel Gandolfo, Italy. 21st October 2016
Grzegorz Galazka\Archivio Grzegorz Galazka\Mondadori via Getty Images

The palace includes an art gallery on the first floor. Its second floor contains bedrooms, a library, a private chapel, and multiple sitting rooms.

The residence also houses papal artifacts like a set of theological encyclopedias owned by Pope Benedict XVI.

Pope Francis opened the Apostolic Palace and gardens to the public, but rarely visited them during his tenure.

The Pope's bedroom in the Apostolic Palace. — Press preview for the international journalists before the Pope's Apartments in the Apostolic Palace open to the public. The Pope's bedroom, famous because in 1944, during World War II, it was given to the women in labour hidden ther by Pope Pius XII.
Grzegorz Galazka\Archivio Grzegorz Galazka\Mondadori via Getty Images

While other popes became familiar faces to local residents during their summer visits, Francis only visited Castle Gandolfo three times in 2013 and never stayed overnight, The New York Times reported.

Instead of staying at the Papal Palace in 2025, Leo XIV stayed at another building on the property, Villa Barberini.

Villa Barberini was built by Scipione Visconti, an Italian noble, as a palace in the 17th century, according to the official website of the Apostolistic Palace and Gardens.

Taddeo Barberini, Pope Urban VIII's nephew, acquired the home in 1631 and expanded the building and its grounds. In more recent years, it served as the residence of the Vatican Secretary of State.

Villa Barberini is known for its expansive gardens.

The Villa Barberini gardens in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.
Gonzalo Buzonni/Shutterstock

The gardens include Borgo Laudato Si, a 55-hectare garden, farm, and ecological education area created by Pope Francis in 2023.

Even on his vacations, Leo XIV continues leading mass on the grounds of the papal residence.

Pope Leo XIV leads mass in the gardens of Castel Gandolfo. — ALBANO LAZIALE, ITALY - JULY 09: Pope Leo XIV leads a special mass for the Care of Creation in the gardens of the papal residence of Castel Gandolfo on July 09, 2025 in Albano Laziale, Italy. Pope Leo XIV will resume using the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo for the next six weeks of the summer.
Gennari/Vatican Pool - Corbis/Getty Images

During his first summer as pope in 2025, Leo XIV led the first Mass for the Care of Creation in the gardens of the residence, calling the setting "a kind of 'natural' cathedral" in his homily, Vatican News reported.

In 2025, he held a private audience with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Castel Gandolfo.

Pope Leo XIV meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. — ALBANO LAZIALE, ITALY - JULY 09: (EDITOR NOTE: STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO MERCHANDISING). Pope Leo XIV exchanges gifts with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a private audience at the papal residence of Castel Gandolfo on July 09, 2025 in Albano Laziale, Italy. Pope Leo XIV will resume using the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo for the next six weeks of the summer.
Vatican Pool/Getty Images

"We very much count on the Vatican and His Holiness to help provide a place for a high-level meeting of leaders to end this war," Zelenskyy told reporters of the Russia-Ukraine War.

This summer, the pope hosted a group of 200 people "living in vulnerable circumstances" for lunch in the Pontifical Gardens, Vatican News reported.

Pope Leo XIV. — CASTEL GANDOLFO, ITALY - JULY 11: (EDITOR NOTE: STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO MERCHANDISING). Pope Leo XIV shares a lunch with some 200 poor and socially vulnerable people during a special "Lunch with the Pope" in Borgo Laudato si' in the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo (Pope's summer residence) on July 11, 2026 in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. Pope Leo XIV greeted those gathered for the special "Lunch with the Pope" at Borgo Laudato si' in the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo. The event brought together 200 people, including nearly 40 children, living in vulnerable circumstances and accompanied by the Diocese of Rome and affiliated charitable organisations. The guests are spending the day immersed in the beauty and spirituality of the Borgo Laudato si' initiative. (Photo by Simone Risoluti - Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
Vatican Pool/Getty Images

The invited guests included single parents, refugees, people with disabilities, and people seeking to reintegrate into the workforce, Vatican News reported.

"As you know very well, one of the Pope's titles is 'Pontiff,' which means 'builder of bridges,'" Leo XIV said in his remarks at the event. "Today, we would like to build a bridge with all of you, with your families, and with the society in which we wish to live, and to live in justice."

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