CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI made his first excursion outside Rome since becoming pontiff, inspecting the papal vacation palace in this lakeside hill town and telling townspeople Thursday he will spend the summer months here.

Bells chimed at the arrival of the Italian air force helicopter that ferried Benedict to this ancient town, 16 miles southeast of Rome, to take formal possession of the Vatican's vacation retreat during a three-hour visit.

His predecessor, John Paul II, often spent a week or two in July hiking or meditating in a chalet in the Italian Alps before spending the rest of the summer, well into September, at Castel Gandolfo.

Local residents were pleased by their first look at Benedict on their turf.

"He's off to a good start," said Giacomino Andrea, 79, a fifth-generation resident who has been cheering popes here since Pius XII, pontiff from 1939 to 1958.

Popes have used their sojourns at the summer palace to write important documents, catch up on reading, relax and entertain.

On Tuesday, the pope

received the Italian president at the Vatican in the first formal audience he has granted to a head of state.

Today, he receives South African President Thabo Mbeki.

On Sunday, he will be in two basilicas in Rome: St. John Lateran, his seat as the bishop of Rome, and St. Mary Major, where he will pray before an icon of the Virgin Mary.