Palazzo Pontificio, Castel Gandolfo

The Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo, or the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo from its Italian name Palazzo Apostolico di Castel Gandolfo, is a 17th-century 135-acre papal palace in the city of Castel Gandolfo, Italy. A museum since October 2016, it had served for centuries as a summer residence and vacation retreat for the pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, and as such was afforded extraterritorial status as one of the properties of the Holy See.
“The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 13th century,” said Saverio Petrillo, whose title is director of the Papal villas. “It was acquired by the Vatican in 1596 when the Savelli family, who owned it, were unable to pay a debt to the Papacy.”
The gardens occupy the site of a residence of the Roman Emperor Domitian. The palace was designed by Swiss-Italian architect Carlo Maderno for Pope Urban VIII. Popes have used the properties as a summer residence and vacation retreat, except for the years between 1870 and 1929 when the popes, in dispute with Italy over territorial claims, did not leave Vatican City. Pope Pius XI had the facilities modernized and began using the retreat again in 1934. In accordance with the Lateran Treaty of 1929, the palace and the adjoining Villa Barberini added to the complex by Pope Pius XI are extraterritorial properties of the Holy See.

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