Pope to Spend Entire Summer at CastelGandolfo

(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”.