Pope Leo XIV is starting a six-week vacation this weekend at the papal summer retreat south of Rome. It's his first break since his historic election in May.

For 400 years, most popes escaped the Roman summer in the hilltop town of Castel Gandolfo, Italy. Then Francis stopped going, leaving the town a bit bereft.

Overlooking Lake Albano on a hill south of Rome, Castel Gandolfo was for centuries a much-loved papal summer retreat — until Pope Francis renounced both the estate and summer holidays. Now the tiny town is reclaiming its vaunted status as a Vatican outpost,