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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Angela Giuffrida in Castel Gandolfo

‘We felt abandoned by Francis’: Pope Leo heads to traditional papal residence for summer break

A narrow street  with covered seating in Castel Gandolfo
Castel Gandolfo has been waiting for years to again welcome a pope. Photograph: Remo Casilli/Reuters

When, soon after being elected in 2013, Pope Francis broke from longstanding Vatican tradition by choosing not to spend his summer holiday in the papal retreat of Castel Gandolfo, a sleepy hilltop town overlooking a lake about an hour south of Rome, residents were taken aback.

One shopkeeper, Anna, compared the perceived rejection to a divorce, while another said it slightly ruptured a sense of belonging.

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