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.
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 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 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.
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 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.
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.
“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.
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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