The papal summer retreat, which includes the Pope’s residence Apostolic Palace, is a beautiful 50 acre farm is in Castel Gandolfo, a small town in the Alban Hills, a volcanic area, (Lazio Region) 25 km south-east Rome.

In September 2011, the Italian trade group Coldiretti gifted Pope Benedict XVI eight beehives, that had half a million bees. In 2012, the bees produced 170 pounds of wildflower honey from the surrounding flowers snd trees. The Alban Hills’ flowers include cyclamen, anemone, narcissus poeticus, wild orchid and pond lily. The Alban Hills and the papal garden include pine, hazel, lime, oak and chestnut trees.

Honey from Italy’s Lazio region is very rich in minerals especially Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Copper and Zinc. This 2000 paper by Dr. Marcello Enrique Conti, Unversita La Sapienza, summarizes the mineral content of honey from the Lazio region.

In this 2.5 minute video “The Pope’s Land of Milk and Honey”, CNS Rome visits Castel Gondolfo for an update about its beehives and honey.

Honey from the Castel Goldolfo beehives is available at the Vatican supermarket. Here is a video of the Vatican ‘Annona’ supermarket.

Pope Francis who seldom uses this Apostolic Palace, decided to open the papal farm for public tours in 2016.