Castelgandolfo

It's been a real joy to visit my brother and his family over the last few days, in the beautiful town of Castelgandolfo.
Their flat overlooks Albano lake, formed in the crater of a volcano. It's a stunning view, with the summer residence of the Venerable English College clearly visible on the opposite side, ( in my photo above, its slightly to the right of centre).


And here it is again with the camera's zoom on. The reddish coloured building behind was once a convent, I believe, but I'm not sure how it is used now.


My brother's flat is a minute's walk from the the piazza, at the top of which is the summer residence of the Holy Father. I believe that the Vatican observatory is situated here at the Pope's summer residence, but it wasn't visible to us from this position. One evening, we sat at one of the tables above, sipping wine and putting the world right, while acknowleging how extraordinary it felt to be so close to a place where the Holy Father spends some weeks in the summer.

The next time you see a glossy advertisement for fine leather shoes or handbags, you might spot a scene similar the the picture above; this narrow, cobbled street, with its high, shuttered buildings forms the view from the kitchen, and is frequently used as a location for fashion model photo shoots.



We managed to spend some time in Rome (not nearly enough!) so tomorrow, I'll try to post some more pictures.