Posted on 02/28/2013 2:33:54 PM PST by 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."
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Living on a boat for eight years or living at Castel Gandolfo?
Pot = kettle black?
We can’t take it with us, and I’m sure His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, Emeritus, is profoundly aware of that fact.
Is there some reason you want to judge him in this way?
BTTT!
If I had a free crib like that, I’d retire too.
As for judging Pope Benedict, had you actually read the exchange on this thread, you would see that it was concerning the lifestyle of all the Vatican denizens. Don't you think Pope Francis is also questioning the extravagance and kingly excess of his new office? Isn't he the one who is making changes? Is HE a pot, too?
You sure about that???
It’s your homepage. I can only judge from what I see there.
It's really funny when folks lounge around on their yachts slandering The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church Jesus Christ Himself founded. If after 2000 years the Church didn't have a pot to tinkle in, the same people would be running off at the mouth about the spendthrift Church having never invested in and preserved anything for future generations to have a connection to their long history and for not taking care of what's been donated to the Church.
It's really not surprising that such possessions focused individuals prefer one of the tens of thousands of squabbling alternatives that have grown out various State confiscations of Church property back when outlawing Christianity was all the rage in Europe. You can bet there won't be many threads from the same folks about where Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI resides once he moves out of this temporary residence.
The fact of the matter is, those who murder their own children in the womb to maintain their "lifestyle" make lots of noise about other folks because they don't want anyone to focuse on them and see the blood and "Superslick Christian Liberty Grease" on their on their hands from murdering infants with abortaficient contraceptives.
Proof of that is seeing some dog retread month old garbage as an excuse to go back to their vomit.
This focus on Church property of late looks like the first tender shoots of a propaganda campaign by "Christians" who will be cheering on the Federal government when it begins confiscating Church property for noncompliance with the HHS mandate.
I wonder if there’s a boat house with a bass boat and sea-doo’s?
Indeed, thank you.
+
It's STILL making the thread about me instead of the topic of the thread. In other words, a personal attack. I can guess you don't have much experience about boats. They happen to come in ALL price ranges as well as size and condition plus brand names. We lived on ours as our only home. I doubt we paid anywhere near what you might have for your house. All of which is immaterial since the discussion was about the excesses of the Vatican and its history not what some peon has in comparison. Do you have any thoughts about Pope Francis' tastes being more humble than his predecessors and his moves to change some of the outward more flashy appearances of the office or is it the preferred tack to go after the one who dares express a thought about it all?
You know it seems that some Catholics react to anything they might consider negative about their religion - no matter how minor the point is - in some of the same ways the Muslims do about Mohammad. They'll behead someone who draws a likeness of him or assassinate anyone they can who dares to question Islam. I DO hope that's not where Catholics are heading!
Discuss the issues all you want, but do not make it personal.
And some Protestants get a little sensitive when the mirror reflects back at them.
And other Protestants lose the debate when they get emotional and make comparisons to “ Muslims”. Hey, why not just admit defeat with the more traditional “Nazi” pronouncement?
I'm sure, some "Protestants" do. In this case, however, there was no "mirror" with which to reflect back. The subject of this thread was about the observable lack of humility in the trappings surrounding the Pope and the Vatican and, recently, the seeming agreement by the new Pope of that view and the changes he wants to make. I applaud him for that. I DO so hope you haven't missed that point. Hence, there really wasn't any "debate" to lose and no "defeat" to worry about. Nice try, though!
I brought up the similarity I have observed on the Religion Forum between the reactions by some Catholics over any perceived comment that might reflect negatively on their religion and the frenzied reactions of some Muslims over any perceived slights concerning their religion. Of course, neither of these groups seems to have any problem slighting the religious beliefs of others. Neither can they bring themselves to admit that other viewpoints may be as valid as their own and that we live in a time where people are free to worship as they choose. I don't believe anyone was ever won to a religious "side" because they were bullied or coerced into it. As Christians, we have a God who is unafraid of questions or doubts but is ready and willing to reveal the truth to anyone who diligently seeks to know Him.
I’m not interested in reductio absurdum rantings regarding Muslim fantasies.
But, the Pope receives little to no money at all.
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