Inside Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict's spectacular temporary retirement home

NBC News ^ | M. Alex Johnson

[Alex Murphy]

Even though Pope Benedict XVI is leaving the papacy, he'll remain in sumptuous, familiar surroundings — at least for a few weeks.

Sometime in April, Benedict will take up permanent residence in Mater Ecclesiae, a modest convent for cloistered nuns at the Vatican. The convent is under renovation, however, so in the meantime, Benedict will live at Castel Gandolfo, the small town of about 8,000 people a few miles southeast of Rome that has been the summer retreat for popes for almost four centuries.

Vatican records indicate that Benedict has spent an average of five weeks a year at the grand Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo since he assumed the papacy in 2005, so he should feel quite at home.

And what a home it is. The complex, which overlooks Lake Albano and what's left of the enormous villa of the first-century Roman Emperor Domitian, actually dwarfs Vatican City by almost 400,000 square feet. It comes complete with landscaped gardens, an arboretum, natural conservatories, museums and fish ponds.

The sculptured gardens, which make up more than half of the estate, are a favorite retreat for popes, who have been known to frequently take long walk along their paths.

And don't forget the 25 dairy cattle, which are reputed to produce some of the finest milk in Europe.

The town is named for the castle of the Gandolfi family of Genoa, which was built around 1200. It was originally a fortress against marauders, which explains its high walls and other ancient barriers.

Formally speaking, the Vatican assumed control of Castel Gandolfo only in 1929 under the Lateran Treaty, which formalized relations between Italy and the independent state of Vatican City. But in reality, it has been the church's domain since 1596, when Pope Clement VIII seized it from the Savelli family in lieu of unpaid debts, according to the Vatican's official history.

Today, it's home not only to the Apostolic Palace but also the Vatican Observatory (where visitors can see a moon rock collected during the Apollo XVII mission), the Villa Barberini (where many remains of Domitian's palace are still visible), Villa Cybo (which is used by school of the Maestre Pie Filippini religious community), apartments for 21 employees and the Pontifical Church of St. Thomas of Villanova.

The spectacular view of Lake Albano from the complex has inspired many artists. Landscapes of the scene by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, J.M.W. Turner and Claude Lorraine, among others, hang in some of the world's premier museums.

The complex itself is the setting for stunning works of religious art, as well, among them frescoes by Jan Henryk de Rosen and Angelo Righetti's statue "Madonna of the Park."

The Pontifical Church, designed in 1658 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the leading sculptor of his age, features interior domes and statues by Antonio Raggi, famous for grand pieces such as the "Virgin and Child" in Paris and the marble "Death of Saint Cecelia" in Rome. One of Bernini's own masterpieces, a fontana, or fountain, adorns the the piazza facing the Apostolic Palace.

At Castel Gandolfo, "I find everything: a mountain, a lake; I even see the sea," Benedict remarked in 2011. Those words are now engraved on a plaque in the town hall.

Benedict will move in to Castel Gandolfo late Thursday afternoon. He'll get there by helicopter — a tradition started in 1975 by Pope Paul VI, who wanted to avoid traffic on the ancient Appian Way.

Paul VI was an especially enthusiastic visitor to Castel Gandolfo. In 1972, he described its charms in words that might resonate with Benedict, who said he was abdicating because of his age and declining health:

"We, too, enjoy this God-given gift, by breathing the fresh air, admiring the beauty of our natural surroundings, appreciating the enchantment of its light and silence and seeking here to restore our lack of energy, which is never enough and now even a little scarce."

[Alex Murphy]

Sometime in April, Benedict will take up permanent residence in Mater Ecclesiae, a modest convent for cloistered nuns at the Vatican. The convent is under renovation, however, so in the meantime, Benedict will live at Castel Gandolfo, the small town of about 8,000 people a few miles southeast of Rome that has been the summer retreat for popes for almost four centuries. And what a home it is. The complex, which overlooks Lake Albano and what's left of the enormous villa of the first-century Roman Emperor Domitian, actually dwarfs Vatican City by almost 400,000 square feet. It comes complete with landscaped gardens, an arboretum, natural conservatories, museums and fish ponds....

....Formally speaking, the Vatican assumed control of Castel Gandolfo only in 1929 under the Lateran Treaty, which formalized relations between Italy and the independent state of Vatican City. But in reality, it has been the church's domain since 1596, when Pope Clement VIII seized it from the Savelli family in lieu of unpaid debts, according to the Vatican's official history....

....Benedict will move in to Castel Gandolfo late Thursday afternoon. He'll get there by helicopter — a tradition started in 1975 by Pope Paul VI, who wanted to avoid traffic on the ancient Appian Way.

See the photoblog at NBCnews.com

[The Louiswu]

No to shabby. Hope he likes astronomy or those telescopes are going to go to waste.

[nickcarraway]

I don’t believe he will be at Castel Gandolfo after he retires. He won’t be pope anymore, so he has no right to be there.

[Biggirl]

If he does not pass on first. When I saw a picture of him today, he did not look too good. Not a good sign.

[colorado tanker]

I suspect there must be some major health issues for him to take the drastic step of abdication.

[boatbums]

Matthew 8:20 Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

[dfwgator]

I suspect he will deteriorate fairly fast...he’s probably been trying to hold on until his term was over, but now he won’t fight it.

[Excellence]

Sometime in April, Benedict will take up permanent residence in Mater Ecclesiae, a modest convent for cloistered nuns at the Vatican. The convent is under renovation, however, so in the meantime, Benedict will live at Castel Gandolfo...

The Pope Emeritus is retired, he is at the Castel Gandolfo.

[Alas Babylon!]

The Vatican is letting him stay there until Mater Ecclesiae is finished, which is only a few months away.

I doubt very much the new Pope will throw him out in the meantime.

After seeing him today, we can’t even be sure he’ll live long enough to move into Mater Ecclesiae...

[TNoldman]

It’s good to be Pope! I guess the nuns are safe.

[Alas Babylon!]

If Jesus was walking down the road right now looking for a place to stay, he can come into my house. The entire master bedroom is his. We’ll sleep on the couch.

[boatbums]

If Jesus was walking down the road right now looking for a place to stay, he can come into my house. The entire master bedroom is his. We’ll sleep on the couch.

:o)

[GreenHornet]

I suspect there must be some major health issues for him to take the drastic step of abdication.

I thought the same thing. I don't think he has much time left on this Earth.

[Mr Rogers]

http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/02/13/mater-ecclesiae-pope-benedict-home-after-vatican/

[Mr Rogers]

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/kathyschiffer/2013/02/pope-benedicts-new-digs/

[Lil Flower]

Matthew 8:20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

??? Your point?

[Biggirl]

That is what I also say, he does not have much time left.

[boatbums]

??? Your point?

Do I seriously have to explain why opulent splendor, sumptuous and expensive clothing, food, furnishings and luxuries at every turn is NOT what Jesus expected his servants to live in or for?

[nickcarraway]

Okay, so he’ll be there for a few months. That’s not like living there permanently. Oh, and I doubt the future pope would kick him out. But then again, you never know how a future pope might react to having a retired pope around. The last time it happened, it was a different world. Some of the potential popes may not like that idea.

[Salvation]

A typical “head of state” trip.

God bless His Holiness, Bendict XVI, Pope Emeritus.

But leave it to NBC ro emphasize the wrong thing.