STAR GAZING WITH THE VATICAN
The recent visit of Pope Leone XIV to the Specula Vaticana during his summer sojourn in the hilltop town of Castelgandolfo on Lake Albano has rekindled interest in the historic papal astronomical observatory situated in the palace precincts.
The observatory is one of the oldest astronomical institutions in Europe, linking its history to the scientific research facility set up in 1578 by Pope Gregory XIII, who also substituted the inaccurate Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar still in use today.
The Vatican observatory was in use until the 1930s when the light pollution of the city of Rome began to limit the range of star viewing and Pope Pius XI decided to have it transferred to Castelgandoldo. In 1981, a corresponding research laboratory (the Vatican Observatory Research Group VORG) was set up in collaboration with the Mt. Graham observatory in Tucson Arizona USA.
Meanwhile, the historic Specula Vaticana continues to operate under the supervision of a team of Vatican scientists. It also runs a summer school every second year for international astronomy students, now into its 19th edition.
Guided tours are available that include the historic viewing cupola in which the Schmidt star viewing telescope is installed, the meteorite collection and the “carte du ciel” camera used in the international mapping project of the stars to which the Vatican contributed between 1910 and 1921.
Info: prenotazione polomusealecastelgandolfo@scv.va
