ROME, Feb. 8— Italy today ordered the gradual pullback of its
contingent of the multinational force from Beirut but said it
would continue to protect the Palestinian refugee camps in its
charge.  Defense Minister Giovanni Spadolini instructed the
chiefs of staff to set in motion coordinated plans to pull back
the troops, which number approximately 1,600, under ''maximum
security'' conditions. He did not say when the pullback would
begin.  In the Vatican today, Pope John Paul II announced that
he sent a personal message Tuesday night to President Reagan
''to tell him of my apprehensions and to ask him to use his
influence above all to put an end to the bombings and killing
and to bring about an immediate truce, which would make possible
the search for a just political solution.''  The Pope, speaking
before about 8,000 people at his weekly general audience, said
he was also appealing to President Hafez al-Assad of Syria and
the leaders of other involved countries. Prayer Offered for
Lebanese  John Paul offered