León XIV y el nudo de Castel Gandolfo, ¿cómo restaurar la tradición ahora que la residencia papal es un museo?

With summer approaching, Leo XIV is faced with a dilemma: whether or not to restore the tradition of holidays at Castel Gandolfo, as all the Popes have done until now, except Francis. Yesterday's trip (for inspection purposes) to the papal villas was not just to spend a day in 'his' but with the arrival of Pope Francis, the practice of using the castle has been completely overturned, just as the ancient papal residence has been permanently altered and is now a permanent museum on both the first floor (known as the reception floor) and the second floor. The papal farms have also been transformed into a social project, halfway between tourism and education, which is still under construction, but which is rumoured to have cost the Vatican coffers a fortune so far. In fact, on 55 hectares of beautiful Italian gardens and former agricultural land, the Centre for Formation, dedicated to the green encyclical Laudato Sì, has taken the place of all the agricultural activities that used to be there, supplying milk and vegetables to the Vatican supermarket (now closed for months).

The sudden visit of Pope Francis immediately raised the hopes of the inhabitants of Castel Gandolfo, who dream that the old traditions will be restored and that the new Pope will once again live and spend his holidays in this vast and historic area, as all the Popes have done for centuries. This seems to be Pope Prevost's intention, but there are a number of logistical issues to be resolved.

Perhaps this is why his personal secretary, the Peruvian Don Edgard, was seen last week making an inspection, as were the heads of the Governorate, which is responsible for the overall management of Castel Gandolfo, a few days later. In the last four years, at various levels, the most radical changes have been approved, leading to the current museum layout, with, for example, the dismantling of the representative part of the papal residence. This could perhaps cause problems in terms of the conversion of the structure. The Great Hall of the Popes, for example, is now used for temporary exhibitions, such as that of ancient tapestries from the Vatican Museums. Given their considerable weight, a special wall has even been built to house them.

Not to mention that the medical guard post in the courtyard (where John Paul II and Benedict XVI held audiences and prayed the Angelus) has been converted into a tourist bar.

Only the Pope's private apartment, upstairs and open to visitors (except for the bathroom), has remained essentially unchanged. Technically, it could be inhabited by Leo XIV, but as it no longer has a reception area on the ground floor, it would not be possible to accommodate the secretary or other assistants as in the past. Now there seems to be a shortage of space, unless it is to be rebuilt, at yet another cost.

The museum is currently run by Andrea Tamburelli, a former Peroni official (reappointed for another five years at the end of 2024). In the past, he made headlines for uprooting the famous Vigna di Papa Ratzinger, a kind of relic, a gift from the beginning of his pontificate that he cherished. It was uprooted to make more space, only to be replaced by roses. The reasons for this decision have never been revealed and are one of the many mysteries surrounding the new version of Castel Gandolfo.