The asteroid (688117) Omizzolo, discovered on April 21, 2012 by astronomers K. Černis and R.P. Boyle at the Observatory on Mount Graham in Arizona, was named in honor of Don Alessandro Omizzolo, a priest, astronomer, and member of the Vatican Observatory.
Born in 1956, Don Omizzolo has devoted his...
The Workshop "Spirituality and Astronomy," organized by the Vatican Observatory, concluded on Sunday, August 30, at its headquarters in Castel Gandolfo. The initiative, born from the idea of bringing scientific observation of the universe into dialogue with spiritual experience, was organized by...
The Vatican Observatory — Vatican City State's astronomical observatory — is currently running a lecture series at its Castel Gandolfo headquarters on one of modern physics' most captivating problems: the Vatican Observatory Lectures on Quantum Gravity 2026. A group of doctoral candidates and...
On May 19, Pope Leo XIV visited the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo for the second time. His previous visit took place on July 20, on the occasion of the 56th annuversary of the Moon landing, an event that the scientific community and the Church have remembered as a sign of human curiosity...
When twenty-five students and three faculty members gathered for the first Vatican Observatory Summer School (VOSS) in June of 1986, they were the result of a far-reaching idea that occurred to Father Martin McCarthy, S.J., in late summer two years earlier. It was evening at Castel Gandolfo. He...
On Saturday, May 9, the TG2 Mizar program dedicated a feature to the Vatican Observatory, including an interview with Father Gabriele Gionti and an account of the scientific activities of the Holy See’s Observatory.
The feature retraced the history of the Vatican Observatory, from its origins to...
On Monday, May 11, the members of the Vatican Observatory Foundation attended the Audience with Pope Leo XIV, experiencing a moment of encounter and sharing deeply connected to the mission of the Vatican Observatory.
In his address, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude for the support that the...
The late stages of stellar evolution stand at the frontier of modern astrophysics — a domain where extreme physics, complex chemistry, and transformative processes converge. As stars ascend the red giant and asymptotic giant branches, shed their outer layers through powerful winds, and blaze...
The historical domes and museum center of the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo are visitable through the Vatican Museums. Tickets available at https://tickets.museivaticani.va/home.
More details are available at https://www.vaticanobservatory.va/en/visit. For bigger groups and further details, please write to: polomusealecastelgandolfo@scv.va (Tel: +39 06 69863260)
The tour includes a visit to the exhibition inside the Pontifical Villas, featuring the two telescopes located in the garden domes and the two telescopes located in the domes on the top of the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo.
A virtual tour of the two locations is available:
