Pope Leo to escape Rome's summer heat with July stay at Castel Gandolfo
VATICAN CITY: As temperatures in Rome swelter this month, reaching more than 35 degrees Celsius (95°F) under the hot Mediterranean sun, Pope Leo has decided to leave town.
The pontiff will spend July 6 to 20 about an hour's drive south in Castel Gandolfo, a small hamlet on Lake Albano, the Vatican said on Tuesday.
Leo, elected pope on May 8 to replace the late Pope Francis, will also return to the lakeshore for at least one weekend in August, it said.
All of Leo's public and private audiences have been suspended from July 2 through July 23, the Vatican said, as was usual under Francis, to allow the pontiff a period of rest. They will restart on July 30.
By going to Castel Gandolfo, Leo is restarting a summer tradition that was broken by Francis.
Dozens of popes over centuries have spent the summer months at Lake Albano, where temperatures are usually about ten degrees cooler than Rome, but Francis preferred to stay in his air-conditioned Vatican residence.
The Vatican has owned a papal palace and surrounding grounds in Castel Gandolfo since 1596. Spanning 55 hectares, the property includes official apartments, elaborate Renaissance-style gardens, a forest and a working dairy farm.
Francis, who shunned most of the trappings of the papacy, had the official papal palace turned into a museum.
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told Reuters the pope would not stay at the palace, which will remain a museum, and will instead stay on another Vatican property.
Leo will return to Castel Gandolfo for the weekend of August 15 to 17.
August 15, a Catholic feast day to celebrate Mary, the Mother of God, is an Italian public holiday. Many Italians spend that day, and much of August, at the beach.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
8 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Surging Travel in Europe Spikes Concerns over Tourism's Drawbacks
Suitcases rattle against cobblestones. Selfie-snappers jostle for the same shot. Ice cream shops are everywhere. Europe has been called the world's museum, but its record numbers of visitors have also made it ground zero for concerns about overtourism. Last year, 747 million international travelers visited the continent, far outnumbering any other region in the world, according to the UN's World Tourism Barometer. Southern and Western Europe welcomed more than 70% of them, The Associated Press reported. As the growing tide of travelers strains housing, water and the most Instagrammable hotspots in the region, protests and measures to lessen the effects of overtourism have proliferated. Here's a look at the issue in some of Europe's most visited destinations. What's causing overtourism Among factors driving the record numbers are cheap flights, social media, the ease of travel planning using artificial intelligence and what UN tourism officials call a strong economic outlook for many rich countries that send tourists despite some geopolitical and economic tensions. Citizens of countries like the US, Japan, China and the UK generate the most international trips, especially to popular destinations, such as Barcelona in Spain and Venice in Italy. They swarm these places seasonally, creating uneven demand for housing and resources such as water. Despite popular backlash against the crowds, some tourism officials believe they can be managed with the right infrastructure in place. Italy's Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè said she thinks tourism flows at crowded sites such Florence's Uffizi Galleries that house some of the world's most famous artworks could be better managed with AI, with tourists able to buy their tickets when they book their travel, even months in advance, to prevent surges. She pushed back against the idea that Italy — which like all of its Southern European neighbors, welcomed more international visitors in 2024 than its entire population — has a problem with too many tourists, adding that most visits are within just 4% of the country's territory. 'It's a phenomenon that can absolutely be managed,' Santanchè told The Associated Press in an interview in her office on Friday. "Tourism must be an opportunity, not a threat — even for local communities. That's why we are focusing on organizing flows.' Where overtourism is most intense Countries on the Mediterranean are at the forefront. Olympics-host France, the biggest international destination, last year received 100 million international visitors, while second-place Spain received almost 94 million — nearly double its own population. Protests have erupted across Spain over the past two years. In Barcelona, the water gun has become a symbol of the city's anti-tourism movement after marching protests have spritzed unsuspecting tourists while carrying signs saying: 'One more tourist, one less resident!' The pressure on infrastructure has been particularly acute on Spain's Canary and Balearic Islands, which have a combined population of less than 5 million people. Each archipelago saw upwards of 15 million visitors last year. Elsewhere in Europe, tourism overcrowding has vexed Italy's most popular sites including Venice, Rome, Capri and Verona, where Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' was set. On the popular Amalfi Coast, ride-hailing app Uber offers private helicopter and boat rides in the summer to beat the crowds. Greece, which saw nearly four times as many tourists as its own population last year, has struggled with the strain on water, housing and energy in the summer months, especially on popular islands such as Santorini, Mykonos and others. The impact of overtourism In Spain, anti-tourism activists, academics, and the government say that overtourism is driving up housing costs in city centers and other popular locations due to the proliferation of short-term rentals that cater to visitors. Others bemoan changes to the very character of city neighborhoods that drew tourists in the first place. In Barcelona and elsewhere, activists and academics have said that neighborhoods popular with tourists have seen local shops replaced with souvenir vendors, international chains and trendy eateries. On some of Greece's most-visited islands, tourism has overlapped with water scarcity as drought grips the Mediterranean country of 10.4 million. In France, the Louvre, the world's most-visited museum, shut down this week when its staff went on strike warning that the facility was crumbling beneath the weight of overtourism, stranding thousands of ticketed visitors lined up under the baking sun. Angelos Varvarousis, a Barcelona- and Athens-based academic and urban planner who studies the industry, said overtourism risks imposing a 'monoculture' on many of Europe's hotspots. 'It is combined with the gradual loss and displacement of other social and economic activities,' Varvarousis said. What authorities are doing to cope Spain's government wants to tackle what officials call the country's biggest governance challenge: its housing crunch. Last month, Spain's government ordered Airbnb to take down almost 66,000 properties it said had violated local rules — while Barcelona announced a plan last year to phase out all of the 10,000 apartments licensed in the city as short-term rentals by 2028. Officials said the measure was to safeguard the housing supply for full-time residents. Elsewhere, authorities have tried to regulate tourist flows by cracking down on overnight stays or imposing fees for those visiting via cruises. In Greece, starting July 1, a cruise tax will be levied on island visitors at 20 euros ($23) for popular destinations like Mykonos and 5 euros ($5.70) for less-visited islands like Samos. The government has also encouraged visitors to seek quieter locations. To alleviate water problems, water tankers from mainland Greece have helped parched islands, and the islands have also used desalination technology, which separates salts from ocean water to make it drinkable, to boost their drinking water. Other measures have included staggered visiting hours at the Acropolis. Meanwhile, Venice brought back an entry fee this year that was piloted last year on day-trippers who will have to pay between 5 and 10 euros (roughly $6 to $12) to enter the city during the peak season.
Al Arabiya
8 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Surging Travel in Europe Spikes Concerns Over Tourism's Drawbacks
Suitcases rattle against cobblestones. Selfie-snappers jostle for the same shot. Ice cream shops are everywhere. Europe has been called the world's museum, but its record numbers of visitors have also made it ground zero for concerns about overtourism. Last year, 747 million international travelers visited the continent, far outnumbering any other region in the world, according to the UN's World Tourism Barometer. Southern and Western Europe welcomed more than seventy percent of them. As the growing tide of travelers strains housing, water and the most Instagrammable hotspots in the region, protests and measures to lessen the effects of overtourism have proliferated. Here's a look at the issue in some of Europe's most visited destinations. What's causing overtourism? Among factors driving the record numbers are cheap flights, social media, the ease of travel planning using artificial intelligence and what UN tourism officials call a 'strong economic outlook' for many rich countries that send tourists, despite some geopolitical and economic tensions. Citizens of countries like the US, Japan, China and the UK generate the most international trips, especially to popular destinations such as Barcelona in Spain and Venice in Italy. They swarm these places seasonally, creating uneven demand for housing and resources such as water. Despite popular backlash against the crowds, some tourism officials believe they can be managed with the right infrastructure in place. Italy's Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè said she thinks tourism flows at crowded sites such as Florence's Uffizi Galleries, that house some of the world's most famous artworks, could be better managed with AI, with tourists able to buy their tickets when they book their travel, even months in advance, to prevent surges. She pushed back against the idea that Italy–which, like all of its Southern European neighbors, welcomed more international visitors in 2024 than its entire population–has a problem with too many tourists, adding that most visits are within just four percent of the country's territory. 'It's a phenomenon that can absolutely be managed,' Santanchè told The Associated Press in an interview in her office on Friday. 'Tourism must be an opportunity, not a threat–even for local communities. That's why we are focusing on organizing flows.' Where overtourism is most intense? Countries on the Mediterranean are at the forefront. Olympics-host France, the biggest international destination last year, received 100 million international visitors, while second-place Spain received almost 94 million–nearly double its own population. Protests have erupted across Spain over the past two years. In Barcelona, the water gun has become a symbol of the city's anti-tourism movement after marching protests have spritzed unsuspecting tourists while carrying signs saying: 'One more tourist, one less resident!' The pressure on infrastructure has been particularly acute on Spain's Canary and Balearic Islands, which have a combined population of less than 5 million people. Each archipelago saw upwards of 15 million visitors last year. Elsewhere in Europe, tourism overcrowding has vexed Italy's most popular sites, including Venice, Rome, Capri and Verona, where Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' was set. On the popular Amalfi Coast, ride-hailing app Uber offers private helicopter and boat rides in the summer to beat the crowds. Greece, which saw nearly four times as many tourists as its own population last year, has struggled with the strain on water, housing and energy in the summer months, especially on popular islands such as Santorini, Mykonos and others. The impact of overtourism. In Spain, anti-tourism activists, academics and the government say that overtourism is driving up housing costs in city centers and other popular locations due to the proliferation of short-term rentals that cater to visitors. Others bemoan changes to the very character of city neighborhoods that drew tourists in the first place. In Barcelona and elsewhere, activists and academics have said that neighborhoods popular with tourists have seen local shops replaced with souvenir vendors, international chains and trendy eateries. On some of Greece's most-visited islands, tourism has overlapped with water scarcity as drought grips the Mediterranean country of 10.4 million. In France, the Louvre, the world's most-visited museum, shut down this week when its staff went on strike warning that the facility was 'crumbling beneath the weight of overtourism,' stranding thousands of ticketed visitors lined up under the baking sun. Angelos Varvarousis, a Barcelona- and Athens-based academic and urban planner who studies the industry, said overtourism risks imposing a monoculture on many of Europe's hotspots. 'It is combined with the gradual loss and displacement of other social and economic activities,' Varvarousis said. What authorities are doing to cope. Spain's government wants to tackle what officials call the country's 'biggest governance challenge:' its housing crunch. Last month, Spain's government ordered Airbnb to take down almost 66,000 properties it said had violated local rules–while Barcelona announced a plan last year to phase out all of the 10,000 apartments licensed in the city as short-term rentals by 2028. Officials said the measure was to safeguard the housing supply for full-time residents. Elsewhere, authorities have tried to regulate tourist flows by cracking down on overnight stays or imposing fees for those visiting via cruises. In Greece, starting July 1, a cruise tax will be levied on island visitors at 20 euros ($23) for popular destinations like Mykonos and 5 euros ($5.70) for less-visited islands like Samos. The government has also encouraged visitors to seek quieter locations. To alleviate water problems, water tankers from mainland Greece have helped parched islands, and the islands have also used desalination technology, which separates salts from ocean water to make it drinkable, to boost their drinking water. Other measures have included staggered visiting hours at the Acropolis. Meanwhile, Venice brought back an entry fee this year that was piloted last year on day-trippers, who will have to pay between 5 and 10 euros (roughly 6 to 12) to enter the city during the peak season.
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Catholics Call for Environmental Action at Rio de Janeiro's Iconic Christ the Redeemer Statue
Brazilian Catholic worshipers laid down an eco-friendly carpet in front of the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and called for the protection of the environment ahead of UN climate talks in the Amazon. Tapestries are a fixture of the Corpus Christi religious feast when Catholics celebrate what they believe is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This year the colorful carpet was made from approximately 460 kilos (1,014 pounds) of recycled plastic caps. Over the past few years, the Christ the Redeemer sanctuary has increasingly used the attention the iconic statue generates to spotlight environmental concerns. 'These caps could be polluting the environment. Today they're here as a carpet,' said Marcos Martins, environmental manager and educator at the sanctuary. 'It's the circular economy: we take the material, we're reusing it here, and then we're going to reuse it again with an exhibition.' Just after daybreak and before the first flock of tourists arrived Thursday, Cardinal Orani João Tempesta led celebrations at the site overlooking Guanabara Bay and Rio's famed Sugarloaf Mountain. 'The caps are a good reminder of our co-responsibility with ecology, of our concern for the environment, which are very characteristic of Christ the Redeemer,' Rio's archbishop told journalists. Thursday's celebration also paid homage to the late Pope Francis and his Laudato Si', a landmark environmental encyclical in which he cast care for the environment in stark moral terms. In the papal letter, Francis called for a bold cultural revolution to correct what he said was a structurally perverse economic system in which the rich exploited the poor, turning Earth into 'a pile of filth' in the process. 'The COP30 is coming up, and we've just had the UN Ocean Conference. Nothing makes more sense than Christ being a great spokesperson for this issue,' said Carlos Lins, the sanctuary's marketing director. Earlier this month, the sanctuary held workshops, discussion groups, and actions focusing on environmental preservation. The statue – perched on the Corcovado Mountain – is itself located in the Tijuca National Park. Brazil has been hit by a series of environmental disasters in recent years, including severe droughts in the Amazon, wildfires in the Pantanal, and flooding in the south. This week heavy rains killed at least two people in the southern region Rio Grande do Sul, just over a year after it was hit by the worst flooding on record. Scientists say extreme weather is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change.
