PHOTOS: New Jubilee tour of Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo highlights beauty of creation
A new tour of the Vatican Gardens at the pope’s summer palace in Castel Gandolfo is opening in spring 2025 for jubilee pilgrims who wish to escape the crowds in Rome for a day and immerse themselves in the natural beauty of God’s creation. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA Rome Newsroom, Jan 11, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA). A new tour of the Vatican Gardens at the pope’s summer palace in Castel Gandolfo is opening in the spring for jubilee pilgrims who wish to escape the crowds in Rome for a day and immerse themselves in the natural beauty of God’s creation.On the wooded slopes of the Alban Hills, overlooking the blue waters of a small volcanic crater lake, the papal residence and gardens at Castel Gandolfo was a favorite summer retreat for popes for centuries.The papal residence and gardens at Castel Gandolfo was a favorite summer retreat for popes for centuries. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAWith the Church’s 2025 Jubilee, these papal gardens will turn a new chapter as the setting for one of Pope Francis’ most ambitious ecological projects.In the spring, the Vatican will open a new tour of the gardens as part of the Borgo Laudato Si’ initiative, a project years in the making that aims to put the principles for integral development outlined in the pope’s environmental encyclical Laudato Si’ into practice.The Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA“Pope Francis believes that he does not need all this space for his summer vacation,” Donatella Parisi, the initiative’s spokesperson, explained during a preview tour of the gardens. “He believes that so much beauty, so much wonder, so much richness should be shared with humanity.” Sculptures in the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAVisiting pilgrims will have the opportunity to taste the produce of Borgo Laudato Si’s organic farm, where olive oil will be pressed from the estate’s 1,400 olive trees and a vineyard will produce wine using advanced, pesticide-free techniques.Honey, herbal teas, and medicinal plants will also be harvested from the property, where cows will provide organic cheese and other dairy products, including ice cream.Visiting pilgrims to the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo during the 2025 Jubilee Year will have the opportunity to taste the produce of Borgo Laudato Si’s organic farm, where olive oil will be pressed from the estate’s 1,400 olive trees and a vineyard will produce wine using advanced, pesticide-free techniques. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA“The farm will become an educational farm,” Parisi said. “Everything that is grown will be shared with the jubilee pilgrims.”The Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo have long been a place of tranquility. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAThe gardens have long been a place of tranquility. Roman Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81–96) first built a lavish country villa on the site, the ruins of which are included in the tour. Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius both visited this ancient villa, according to the Vatican.Roman Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81–96) first built a lavish country villa on the site, the ruins of which are included in the tour of the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo during the 2025 Jubilee Year. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAThe property was later adopted as the popes’ summer residence in the 1600s. Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644) was the first pope to spend his summer holiday in the palace.Among the Vatican Gardens’ 3,000 plants from 300 species is a 700-year-old oak tree and meticulously maintained hedges that reflect centuries of papal stewardship. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAAmong the gardens’ 3,000 plants from 300 species is a 700-year-old oak tree and meticulously maintained hedges that reflect centuries of papal stewardship.The Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAToday the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo are accessible via a 45-minute train ride south from Rome. The Borgo Laudato Si’ property includes more than 86 acres of gardens and 49 acres of agricultural land.The opening of the new tour marks the 10th anniversary of the publication of Laudato Si’ and the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of the Sun.”Signs have been placed throughout the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo to foster moments of contemplation of both creation and Creator. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNASigns have been placed throughout the gardens with reflections on topics from “silence” to “water” to foster moments of contemplation of both creation and Creator. “What we want to offer to all visitors … is an immersive experience in the principles of Laudato Si’,” Parisi said. Visitors to the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo will experience “an immersive experience in the principles of Laudato Si’.” Credit: Courtney Mares/CNACentral to this experience is the integration of ecological education, circular economy practices, and environmental sustainability. The gardens have undergone significant transformations to align with these goals. Solar panels have
A new tour of the Vatican Gardens at the pope’s summer palace in Castel Gandolfo is opening in spring 2025 for jubilee pilgrims who wish to escape the crowds in Rome for a day and immerse themselves in the natural beauty of God’s creation. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Jan 11, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
A new tour of the Vatican Gardens at the pope’s summer palace in Castel Gandolfo is opening in the spring for jubilee pilgrims who wish to escape the crowds in Rome for a day and immerse themselves in the natural beauty of God’s creation.On the wooded slopes of the Alban Hills, overlooking the blue waters of a small volcanic crater lake, the papal residence and gardens at Castel Gandolfo was a favorite summer retreat for popes for centuries.The papal residence and gardens at Castel Gandolfo was a favorite summer retreat for popes for centuries. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAWith the Church’s 2025 Jubilee, these papal gardens will turn a new chapter as the setting for one of Pope Francis’ most ambitious ecological projects.In the spring, the Vatican will open a new tour of the gardens as part of the Borgo Laudato Si’ initiative, a project years in the making that aims to put the principles for integral development outlined in the pope’s environmental encyclical Laudato Si’ into practice.The Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA“Pope Francis believes that he does not need all this space for his summer vacation,” Donatella Parisi, the initiative’s spokesperson, explained during a preview tour of the gardens. “He believes that so much beauty, so much wonder, so much richness should be shared with humanity.” Sculptures in the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAVisiting pilgrims will have the opportunity to taste the produce of Borgo Laudato Si’s organic farm, where olive oil will be pressed from the estate’s 1,400 olive trees and a vineyard will produce wine using advanced, pesticide-free techniques.Honey, herbal teas, and medicinal plants will also be harvested from the property, where cows will provide organic cheese and other dairy products, including ice cream.Visiting pilgrims to the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo during the 2025 Jubilee Year will have the opportunity to taste the produce of Borgo Laudato Si’s organic farm, where olive oil will be pressed from the estate’s 1,400 olive trees and a vineyard will produce wine using advanced, pesticide-free techniques. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA“The farm will become an educational farm,” Parisi said. “Everything that is grown will be shared with the jubilee pilgrims.”The Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo have long been a place of tranquility. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAThe gardens have long been a place of tranquility. Roman Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81–96) first built a lavish country villa on the site, the ruins of which are included in the tour. Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius both visited this ancient villa, according to the Vatican.Roman Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81–96) first built a lavish country villa on the site, the ruins of which are included in the tour of the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo during the 2025 Jubilee Year. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAThe property was later adopted as the popes’ summer residence in the 1600s. Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644) was the first pope to spend his summer holiday in the palace.Among the Vatican Gardens’ 3,000 plants from 300 species is a 700-year-old oak tree and meticulously maintained hedges that reflect centuries of papal stewardship. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAAmong the gardens’ 3,000 plants from 300 species is a 700-year-old oak tree and meticulously maintained hedges that reflect centuries of papal stewardship.The Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAToday the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo are accessible via a 45-minute train ride south from Rome. The Borgo Laudato Si’ property includes more than 86 acres of gardens and 49 acres of agricultural land.The opening of the new tour marks the 10th anniversary of the publication of Laudato Si’ and the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of the Sun.”Signs have been placed throughout the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo to foster moments of contemplation of both creation and Creator. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNASigns have been placed throughout the gardens with reflections on topics from “silence” to “water” to foster moments of contemplation of both creation and Creator. “What we want to offer to all visitors … is an immersive experience in the principles of Laudato Si’,” Parisi said. Visitors to the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo will experience “an immersive experience in the principles of Laudato Si’.” Credit: Courtney Mares/CNACentral to this experience is the integration of ecological education, circular economy practices, and environmental sustainability. The gardens have undergone significant transformations to align with these goals. Solar panels have
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