Rome - Pope Benedict XVI is to go on holiday for two weeks to his Alpine chalet in north-west Italian mountain village of Les Combes di Introd with 200 security personnel in attendance, the police presidium in the Aosta region reported on Saturday.

Police with guard dogs and snipers are to be posted in the forests bordering the chalet. Controls have also been intensified on access roads, tunnels and train stations, the Italian news agency Ansa said.

Due to depart on Monday, the pope had a busy work week that included the delivering of a social encyclical calling for financial and economic guidelines to be based on ethical principles, as well as a meeting on Friday with US President Barack Obama. (dpa)