Today (Monday) Pope Benedict XVI will begin his summer vacation at the seminary in Bressanone (north Italy), in a building that dates back to 1050.It once served as a stopover for travellers crossing the Italian Alps.
Only the Pope's party, the administrative staff, and Milly, the resident black cat, will be at the seminary during the Pope's stay-- from July 28 to August 11.
A grand piano has been installed.
The seminary officials were conscious that the Pope enjoys playing. It will also serve the Pope's brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, a former music director who will join the Pontiff during his vacation.
The Pope's entourage when he comes to Bressanone will include at least 25 persons. The seminary, where they will be staying, will be a 'Vatican island' - protected from outside view by a three-metre-high temporary fence and defended by a nucleus of Vatican police specialists.
This is possible because Vatican state has extra-territorial privileges in Italy. Outside the 0.44 square kilometers that it occupies in Rome, it has ten other permanent sites with extra-territorial status throughout Italy - places which, like foreign embassies in any country, are considered the territory of their respective nations.
The same privilege attaches to any place where the Pope goes ad interim - in this case, the Seminario Maggiore and its gardens.
In the past few weeks, the seminary has undergone a major facelift in preparation for the Pope's coming.
"It's work that would have been done in any case," said Fr. Thomas Stuerz, diocesan coordinator of the Pope's vacation.
"The last time any work was done on the building was 50 years ago, but the criteria then were very different from the needs today."
Not all the work has to do directly with the Pope's visit.
A major novelty is the installation of elevators for the aged and the disabled.
The seminarians' rooms are being renovated so that each will have its own bathroom and telephone.
Outside, workmen have just finished restoring the pavement.
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