Pope Francis has given permission for the private apartments of the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of popes for 400 years, to open to the public as a museum for the first time. The incumbent pope, who shunned the papal apartments at the Vatican for more modest quarters when he took office in 2013, has never stayed the night at the 17th-century lakeside palace 20km southeast of Rome. Tourists and pilgrims may now enter rooms previously reserved for the pope and his inner circle, including the bedroom, study, chapel and the hall of the Swiss Guard, on tours organised by the Vatican Museums six days a week.
“Whoever crosses the threshold of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo will encounter pure beauty,” says Antonio Paolucci, the outgoing director of the Vatican Museums, in a statement. “Walking through the rooms of the Apostolic Apartment they will hear the murmur of history and [feel] gratitude for this unexpected gift from the Pope.” A future pope could decide to convert the museum back into a private residence, the Vatican’s curator of collections, Sandro Barbagallo, told Vatican Radio.
The opening on 22 October follows Pope Francis’s decision to open the manicured Barberini Gardens of the 55-hectare estate to visitors in 2014. The papal palace’s portrait gallery and the organic farm in the grounds—which supplies the pope’s table with fresh produce—became accessible in 2015. The full €40 day ticket, only available on Saturdays, includes a visit to the Vatican Museums and a return trip to Castel Gandolfo on the Vatican steam train.
