A Papal Retreat

This past weekend Josh was fortunate enough to not to have to go into work, and I myself being of the unemployed/yet to be employed category had a bit of free time to spend as well. After some discussion about another whirlwind trip to visit old churches in yet another Italian city, we agreed that a change of pace might be quite nice in light of our recent traveling adventures and decided to stick around Rome. Knowing my love for sitting in the sun while burning my skin with harmful UV rays Josh received a recommendation from one of his colleagues about Castel Gandolfo, on Lake Albano. Home in the summer, to the world’s catholic head-honcho and exalted Roman figure, the Pope himself.

I figured it is good enough for the Pope, who has a very nice tan by the way; it will suffice nicely for me as well. So we hoped a local train out of the Termini station for a quick 25 minute ride to the lake. Josh tells me on the way up that the lake itself was formed by two ancient volcanoes and now basically sits in its own crater… how does he know these things? We arrive at the station, which isn’t much more than a spot where the gravel beside the rail bed widens and follow the road down to the lake. The view was wonderful. Although not the most majestic site I have seen since arriving in Italy, what it lacked in grandeur it made up for in pure charm. The popes really know how to relax! Indeed the small lake was nestled inside a continuous ring of gentle slopes. One side of the lack was completely covered in nature, pine trees and green vegetation, while the other side has the picturesque town and summer homes dotted along the rim and down the slopes. There is a main beach area, complete with all of the typical Italian “pay beaches”. These are new to me, but as I am learning, a very common practice. Instead of having a long shoreline of public beaches, as in the states, there are lots of little private beaches where people pay a nominal fee to the owner to rent all the necessities of towels, chairs and umbrellas. After a quick lunch, we found Giorgio’s beach rented pedal boats by the hour to take out on the lake and set sail for an afternoon of peaceful swimming and sunning in the middle of this freshwater oasis. It was one of the best days I have had, the water was deep and perfectly clear, cool, but not cold, perfect for a late day in August. Because we were out on the little boat, we were away from the usual noise and bustle of the beach, which gave me the luxurious feeling of privacy, something that you don’t get a whole lot of when living in a city like Rome (with a weird neighbor).

After a few happy hours of peace and pedaling, we took a short walk through the little community, where they were preparing for a festival that involved an annual tradition of taking a statue of Mary out to the lake and parading her around the lake in decorated boats. I didn’t see the pope, but think he would approve of the celebration, although I am uncertain of what he must think of all of the scantily clad folks that sun themselves on the shoreline of his lake. Maybe next time I will stop by to ask. On the way home, I made a mental note to look up the winter residence of the Pope, so far, he has shown to have excellent taste.