Pope Leo to escape Rome’s summer heat with July stay at Castel Gandolfo

VATICAN CITY — As temperatures in Rome swelter this month, reaching more than 35 degrees Celsius (95°F) under the hot Mediterranean sun, Pope Leo has decided to leave town.

The pontiff will spend July 6 to 20 about an hour's drive south in Castel Gandolfo, a small hamlet on Lake Albano, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

The telescope domes on the roof of the Vatican Astronomical Observatory, Specola Vaticana, are seen at the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo, on July 30, 2015. Andreas Solaro/AFP

Tourists alight from a steam locomotive as it arrives at the pope's summer home of Castel Gandolfo on September 11, 2015 in Vatican City. Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Leo, elected pope on May 8 to replace the late Pope Francis, will also return to the lakeshore for at least one weekend in August, it said.

All of Leo's public and private audiences have been suspended from July 2 through July 23, the Vatican said, as was usual under Francis, to allow the pontiff a period of rest. They will restart on July 30.

By going to Castel Gandolfo, Leo is restarting a summer tradition that was broken by Francis.

People visit the gardens of Castel Gandolfo on March 22, 2014. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

People visit the Madonna garden in Castel Gandolfo on March 22, 2014. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

People walk in the Lecci street in the gardens Castel Gandolfo on March 22, 2014. AFP/Vincenzo Pinto

Dozens of popes over centuries have spent the summer months at Lake Albano, where temperatures are usually about ten degrees cooler than Rome, but Francis preferred to stay in his air-conditioned Vatican residence.

The Vatican has owned a papal palace and surrounding grounds in Castel Gandolfo since 1596. Spanning 55 hectares, the property includes official apartments, elaborate Renaissance-style gardens, a forest and a working dairy farm.

Francis, who shunned most of the trappings of the papacy, had the official papal palace turned into a museum.

A view of the Pope's apartment in Castel Gandolfo, October 21, 2016. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

The Pope's private office is pictured in Castel Gandolfo, October 21, 2016. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

The Pope's bedroom is pictured in Castel Gandolfo, October 21, 2016. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told Reuters the pope would not stay at the palace, which will remain a museum, and will instead stay on another Vatican property.

Leo will return to Castel Gandolfo for the weekend of August 15 to 17.

August 15, a Catholic feast day to celebrate Mary, is an Italian public holiday. Many Italians spend that day, and much of August, at the beach. — Reuters