Castel Gandolfo: The Palace of the Popes Damaged by Fire

The Italian journal Il Messaggero on October 11, 2023, revealed that a fire was reported “a few days before,” in the consistory room of the pontifical palace of Castel Gandolfo, which served as the summer residence of the popes until 2013. 

The cause of the fire has not yet been precisely identified at this time, even though arson was immediately excluded by the spokesperson for the Holy See Press Office: “It is probably a matter of a short circuit in the air conditioning system,” stated Matteo Bruni.

The Vatican remained, first and foremost, rather reserved on the extent of the damage. “I am not in a position to give details, ask Sister Raffaella Petrini,” was the laconic response Il Messaggero received on the phone from Andrea Tamburelli, director of the palace, which was turned into a museum by Pope Francis. Vatican News supplied more details on October 14.

Before it was put out, the fire reached a part of the wall tapestry and the upholstery of 4 chairs. Among the tapestries of the room, only one will need minor restoration because a corner was blackened by the smoke. Nothing invaluable was damaged. The firefighters, arriving later, confirmed the stability of the roof and walls. The smoke did not reach the chapel of Pope Urban VIII, situated nearby, which is completely intact. 

Since 2016, the vacation spot of the popes in Latium has opened its doors to visitors and to the curious. The palace had entered the Vatican’s possession in 1596 as part of the payment of a debt by the Savelli family.

Originally designed by the architect Carlo Maderno, the pontifical residence was renovated in the 17th century at the request of Pope Urban VIII, then modernized under the pontificate of Pope Pius XI. The palace, which also offers an unobstructed view of Lake Albano, served as the summer residence of numerous popes.

In the palace courtyard where the popes had the custom—until Pope Francis—of reciting the Angelus in the summer, a few models of popemobiles are displayed. A staircase then leads the visitor to the portrait gallery. Then a second staircase leads to the pontifical apartments, rooms ornamented with polychromatic marble and furnished with art.

The Swiss room, thus named because the guard close to the Successor of Peter was permanently posted there, is today decorated with a depiction of the Deposition from the Cross and a Madonna of the 18th century made by Domenico Corvi.

The next room is called the “grooms' room,” where some “sedia” or sedan chairs for the use of the Roman pontiffs were brought, and finally the noble guard room contains the personal mementos of Pope Piux IX. 

The most beautiful rooms of the palace are without doubt the throne room and the consistory room. This last room, decorated under the reign of Pope Pius IX, houses a tapestry by the Gobelins Manufactory depicting the Holy Family in Egypt.

At the time this was written, we do not know which artworks were damaged, nor the exact extent of the damage which is “in the process of evaluation” according to the Holy See Press Office.