Oct 22, 2016 / 11:04 am
Used for centuries as a private summer residence for Popes, the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo has now been opened to the public. Visitors may access rooms where Popes have died and where some 50 babies were born during the Second World War.
"Whoever crosses the threshold of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo will encounter pure beauty," Director of the Vatican Museums Antonio Paolucci said in an Oct. 21 statement.
"Reaching the great terrace they will see below the blue eye of the lake and the mountains covered with intact forests that surround it," he said. "Crossing the room of the Apostolic Apartment they will hear the buzz of history and think of the emotion and wonder, but also of the gratitude that each visitor will have for this unexpected gift from the Pope."
Tours of the Pontifical Villa are being managed by the Vatican Museums. Castel Gandolfo was opened to the public Oct. 22, with tickets available for purchase on the museums' website.