Castel Gandolfo

Popes have spent their summers here since 1626, in the Apostolic Palace that now also opens to visitors as a museum. The town stands on a hilltop above Lake Albano, a volcanic crater with small beaches of dark volcanic sand and a shore you can walk all the way round. On Piazza della Libertà, Bernini designed the collegiate church of San Tommaso da Villanova.

Highlights

• The Apostolic Palace, papal summer residence, with its Secret Garden open to visitors
• Bernini's collegiate church of San Tommaso da Villanova (IT)
• A walk round Lake Albano, with woodland stretches and swimming from volcanic-sand beaches
• The Roman outlet tunnel of the lake and the remains of Domitian's villa
• The feast of San Sebastiano on the first weekend of September

Text adapted from Wikipedia (Castel Gandolfo (IT), Castel Gandolfo (EN)), Wikivoyage (Castel Gandolfo (IT), Castel Gandolfo (EN)). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.