Description:
The Papal Swiss Guards The Swiss Guards have protected the pope in the Vatican for over 500 years and are one of the few Renaissance-era bodyguard units still in active service today. Although the cut of their costume has changed over the centuries, the coloring has remained bold and bright. This cuirass (breast- and backplate) and pauldrons (shoulder defenses) are strikingly ornamented with deep-blue and gold decoration and are part of a series of pieces likely dispersed from the Vatican armory centuries ago. A mark on the side of the breastplate appears to be the coat of arms for the Barberini family of the 17th-century pope Urban VIII. It is thought that plain cuirasses from the previous century were repaired and decorated for the papal guards during Urban’s reign.
The helmet features the portrait and coat of arms of Pope Julius III and dates to over 70 years earlier than the cuirass, but it may have set the precedent for its design.
I WANT to say that going for fancy engravings and inlays on armor is a bad financial-security choice compared to, say, hiring an additional few men or paying your current guards more, especially since the Papal States were still intermittently active in international affairs in the 17th century…
… but they’re so gorgeous, I can’t really fault Urban.
While pomp and circumstance is materially wasteful, it is just part of the game. I’m sure visitors to the Vatican expected to be impressed.
