When you’ve ever been to the Vatican or watched for a puff of white smoke on stay TV, you most likely observed one thing colourful. Or somewhat, one thing wholly mind-blowing within the trendy period of tactical navy design—a troop of tri-color pantalooned papal protectors wielding halberds, seemingly straight out of a Raphael portray.
However these will not be employed cosplayers. That is the Swiss Guard, the pope’s private safety crew—and at the moment they’re defending the school of cardinals as they vote on the subsequent Catholic chief, decked out in what Encyclopedia Britannica has dubbed “among the many oldest uniforms in steady use.”
It’s extra Met Gala than navy. Right here’s how this daring anachronism got here to be.
SWISS ARMY LIFE
In fact, there’s one other anomaly at play right here: Why the mini military is dubbed the Swiss Guard regardless of being situated throughout the world’s smallest nation (Vatican Metropolis), which is nestled inside Rome.
Because it seems, somewhat than being a false eponym, the title is sort of literal. Within the late Center Ages, Swiss mercenary forces had been revered for his or her extremely efficient (learn: lethal/terrifying) tactical combating. Different nations within the area employed them to nice impact—so in 1506, Pope Julius II introduced 150 of them to the Vatican.
It was a fortuitous resolution, and one that might save Pope Clements VII’s life in 1527. On Could 6—the day through which new Swiss Guard members at the moment are historically sworn in yearly, although that has been postponed in 2025 as a result of conclave—Charles V’s troopers sacked Rome. Of the Guard’s 189 members, 147 had been killed, they usually saved the pope’s life by ferrying him to security by way of a secret passage.
At present, the Vatican has a police drive, which handles normal safety and legislation enforcement within the metropolis. However the Swiss Guard solely protects the pope and his residence, and in addition travels overseas with him, along with safeguarding conclaves. And so they do it with extra than simply these halberds—all members of the Guard should be between 19 and 30, Catholic, single, and have already accomplished fundamental coaching with the Swiss Military, giving the 135-strong drive proficiency with navy techniques and trendy firearms, which they’re certainly outfitted with.
There’s greater than meets the attention in these pantaloons. And never everyone seems to be carrying them—some guards are in plain garments and will look like vacationers strolling subsequent to you.
“THE MOST PICTURESQUE UNIFORM OF ALL”
If you were to Google just what the heck, exactly, the Swiss Guard are wearing, you’d quickly discover that the uniforms were designed by Michelangelo, who Julius II also commissioned to paint the Sistine Chapel. And that would be a myth, which everyone from The New York Times in the 19th century to Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown has perpetuated. Rather, as the Vatican has detailed, when the mercenaries first rolled into the city, they were dressed like any other soldier of the 1500s, donning doublets and stockings. It’s believed that Julius II gifted them with the beginnings of their signature stylistic flair when he incorporated yellow and blue—colors from his family coat of arms—into their uniforms.
According to the Vatican, clothing had become finer and more colorful during the Renaissance, and red was in vogue. So Julius II’s successor, Leo X, took the opportunity to incorporate it into the uniforms as a nod to the colors of his family, the powerful Medici, during his reign from 1513 to 1521. Tweaks and revisions were made over time, with history intervening at various points. For example, as the Vatican details, there was no money to make updates to the uniforms during Napoleon’s rule, “but some years later, under Leo XII, various attempts were made to copy Napoleonic uniforms, but fortunately without success; otherwise the splendid old uniforms would have been lost forever.”
The present incarnation of the uniforms got here within the early twentieth century when a person named Jules Repond refined their kind as we all know it at the moment (and who the Vatican notes “was gifted with an exceptionally superb style for colours and shapes”). Pope Pius X appointed him as commander of the Swiss Guard in 1910—and he instantly managed to rankle the ranks. The Swiss Guard had grow to be largely ceremonial, so he introduced again rigorous navy workout routines and rifle observe. He mandated that solely true Swiss natives might enroll. And he studied Raphael’s frescoes and refined the uniform, drawing inspiration from its Renaissance-era look. Over time the uniforms had been variations on a theme, and by 1914, Repond introduced them to their remaining kind. At present, 111 years on, they’re practically the very same design.
TAILOR-MADE
There are a medley of variations to the uniform for various events, and even a subdued blue “train uniform” that’s worn by the Guard throughout evening operations and when working, say, the gate on the St. Anne’s entrance. (The Guard politely declined to remark for this story, given, , the entire conclave at hand—however as they element on their web site: “The primary roads are additionally situated there, and the colourful Gala uniform would trigger an excessive amount of distraction for the motorists.”)
Irrespective of which uniform a member of the Guard sports activities, there’s a great likelihood it was made by Ety Cicioni, the Vatican’s chief tailor since 1997. Because the CBC reported, the most important problem is protecting the uniform the identical as Repond’s imaginative and prescient regardless of the passage of time, and its impression on supplies and strategies. Nonetheless, he and a crew of seven handle to churn out 120 a 12 months utilizing prized wool from the Italian metropolis of Biella. Per the CBC, each outfit is created from 154 items of cloth—and Cicioni has additionally designed costumes for Vatican-adjacent movies, corresponding to 2019’s The Two Popes and 2023’s The Pope’s Exorcist.
The one factor that has modified within the general design of the uniform—the Swiss Guard acquired a helmet glow-up in 2019 when their scorching steel morions had been replaced with breathable 3D-printed PVC counterparts.
Finally, being a guard isn’t all halberds and Renaissance historical past. Of their off-time, they play on the FC Guardia soccer crew, and compete towards museum attendants and different teams within the Vatican Championship. They’ll be part of the Vatican band. They get to dine on Swiss and Italian delicacies cooked by Albertine nuns from Poland.
What they can’t do is play quick and unfastened with these wild uniforms. They’re allowed to maintain them for 5 years after they depart the Guard, or they are often buried in them. However they’re explicitly banned from promoting them.
Nonetheless, for those who’ve acquired $47,500, you might at all times try eBay.
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