(12 Mar 10 - RV) The natural beauty of the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo and
not the mountainous areas of northern Italy will be the backdrop to Pope Benedict
XVI’s summer vacation this year.
In a press
release issued Friday it was announced that the Holy Father will travel directly from
Rome to Castel Gandolfo, to spend the whole summer.
The Pope, the statement
read, “greatly appreciates the invitations received this year to spend a few weeks
in the Alps and sincerely thanks the bishops for these invitations, but this year
- concluded the press release - he prefers to start a summer of rest and study immediately
without the commitment of additional travel”.