Pope Leo XIV revives centuries-old vacation tradition, bringing hope of a tourist boom to Castel Gandolfo

Pope Leo XIV will resurrect a tradition that is more than 400 years old on Sunday when he heads out of Vatican City for a summer vacation at Castel Gandolfo. Pontiffs have sought refuge from the summer heat at the lakeside town about an hour south of Rome for centuries, but the late Pope Francis abandoned the tradition during his 12-years at the Vatican. 

Leo’s looming visit has raised hopes of a new boost for tourism in the small town. He will be there from July 6 until July 20, according to an article published last month by the Vatican’s official news outlet. 

As the first pope to visit the village on the shores of Lake Albano — home to only about 8,900 people — in over a decade, Leo has Castel Gandolfo’s mayor and business owners hoping that other tourists will follow, perhaps even trying to overlap to catch a glimpse of the pontiff.

Pope Francis, who died in April, shunned many of the trappings and splendor that the papacy can convey, deciding to spend his summers at his humble Vatican residence instead of venturing to Gandolfo.

While he’s there, Chicago-born Pope Leo will stay at a walled-off building owned by the Vatican — not at the traditional papal residence in the town, the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo.

“Pope Leo has given us a wonderful gift,” Stefano Carosi, the owner of a local coffee shop, told the Reuters news agency. “The pope has always been important here… because he attracts people.”

Castel Gandolfo Mayor Alberto De Angelis told Reuters that locals were ecstatic about the papal visit.

“The presence of the popes in Castel Gandolfo has always meant a lot of activity, a lot of economic growth,” he said.

Leo will likely remain out of public view for much of his visit, behind the walls of the papal residence, but he is slated to make appearances on July 13 and 20, to attend religious celebrations in the town.

Popes have vacationed at Castel Gandolfo for years in the summer, taking advantage of its 1,400 feet of altitude next to the lake to seek cooler climes than in Rome, where an early summer European heat wave has already driven temperatures to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Leo won’t stay at the papal palace, which, along with its ornate Renaissance-style gardens, was first acquired by the Vatican in 1596 as a debt payment from an aristocratic family. Pope Francis turned the palace into a museum during his papacy, opening its gardens to tourists. The museum will remain open during Leo’s visit.

While Francis never stayed at Castel Gandolfo, residents say his decision to open the palace as a public museum has benefited the community.

The owner of a mosaic studio in the lakeside town, Marina Rossi, said tourists now come much more frequently, as opposed to only coming during the summer to see the pope.

“It was more of a hit-and-run tourism, because there was the audience and then they would leave,” she told Reuters. “Now there is a steady flow of tourism throughout the whole year.”

Rossi said the return of the Catholic leader to the town would give Castel Gandolfo a chance to draw even more tourists. 

“It’s an important moment,” she said. “I won’t hide my happiness.”