PHOTOS: New Jubilee tour of Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo highlights beauty of creation

Rome Newsroom, Jan 11, 2025 / 06:00 am

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.

With 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.

“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.” 

Visiting 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.

“The farm will become an educational farm,” Parisi said. “Everything that is grown will be shared with the jubilee pilgrims.”

The 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.

The 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 gardens’ 3,000 plants from 300 species is a 700-year-old oak tree and meticulously maintained hedges that reflect centuries of papal stewardship.

Today 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 gardens with reflections on topics from “silence” to “water” to foster moments of contemplation of both creation and Creator. 

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“What we want to offer to all visitors … is an immersive experience in the principles of Laudato Si’,” Parisi said. 

Central 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 been installed on the site. Rainwater harvesting systems and restructured fountain plumbing aim to achieve zero water waste, while electric vehicles will eventually replace gas-powered transport.  

The water system is a major focus, according to Parisi. “There will be rainwater harvesting cisterns put in for the first time. The energy will all be sustainable,” she said. Agriculture will follow conservation and generative practices. 

At the heart of the Borgo Laudato Si’ is a commitment to social justice. “A specific request of Pope Francis is that this place be a home for people in a vulnerable condition,” Parisi explained. 

The project offers job training for marginalized groups, including refugees, former prisoners, survivors of human trafficking, and individuals with disabilities. “This is a mandate that is very close to Pope Francis’ heart,” she said. 

An American priest, Father Manuel Dorantes, recently took the reins as the director of the Borgo Laudato Si’s Center for Higher Education. The pastor from the Archdiocese of Chicago began a four-year term at the center on Dec. 1.

Before taking up the post, Dorantes expressed hope that the initiative will “create tangible examples of the Church’s contribution to the care of our common home and to the integral development of the human person.”

The educational opportunities extend to children and students, who will have the opportunity to participate in summer schools, workshops, and ecological awareness programs.

Cardinal Fabio Baggio, who oversees the project, sees it as a model for future initiatives. 

In a preview of the project last fall, Baggio said: “The beauty of the Barberini Villa and the Pontifical Villas gardens becomes the natural setting for the development of a place of ‘integral ecology,’ open to all people of goodwill.”