Home » Rome empties in August, but the papal in-tray doesn’t

Rome empties in August, but the papal in-tray doesn’t

What Pope Leo XIV decides to do will be interesting in any case, and his decisions (or indecisions) are sure to be parsed by the chattering classes.

Pope Leo XIV returned to the Vatican three weeks ago, after a stay at the papal summer retreat of Castel Gandolfo, but Rome is pretty much a ghost town between August 13 and whatever Tuesday happens to follow.

Romans head for the seaside, the hills outside the city, or pretty much anywhere else for the ancient Roman feragosto (ferragosto in Italian, but the Romans say it with one rolled r).