Pontiff to open Vatican farm to public

The Vatican has revealed that Pope Francis is set to open he farm to the public.

The pontiff according to Yahoo Newswill be opening the doors to the farm that produces the dairy, meat and vegetables for the pope and his staff. The Vatican is planning to open the farm at Castel Gandolfo to the public next year, after finding success with its guided tours of the surrounding gardens, fountains and Roma-era archaeological treasures on the huge 25 kilometers estate south of Rome.

The farm will be open to the public to see the farm’s free-range hens housed in a majolica-decorated chicken coop, the ostriches, turkeys, rabbits and 80 cows that feed Francis and his staff at the Santa Marta hotel.

"We wait for the order from Santa Marta we proceed according to that order and put together a special basket for the Holy Father that reaches his table and his kitchen," Osvaldo Gianoli, who runs the villa, said according to Yahoo News.

Francis himself wanted the Villa Barberini gardens to open to the public, and since its March opening some 8,000 people have passed through. Gianoli says that while plans aren't final yet, he hopes to add a visit to the farm and a more comprehensive visit to the gardens "and, why not, even the possibility of tasting our products."

The farm was built between 1929 and 1934 by Pope Pius XI and it still operates with the standard of that time. It works with natural fertilizers but Synthetic chemicals are used only when strictly necessary.

Eight people currently tend to the animals and vegetable patch where potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes and other produce are grown.