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PRESS RELEASE

IN THE POPE’S DEFENCE

An extraordinary exhibition of papal armour from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries opens the storerooms of the Vatican Museums' Historical Collections

Castel Gandolfo, 13 October 2025 - As part of the celebrations for the 2025 Jubilee, the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage, in collaboration with the Directorate of the Pontifical Villas, is promoting a new and extraordinary exhibition entitled “In the Pope’s Defence”, hosted in the prestigious spaces of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo. The exhibition, curated by Sandro Barbagallo, Curator of the Historical Collections Department, with the assistance of Marco Iuffrida, brings to the public's attention for the first time a selection of rare original helmets from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from the Vatican Museums' Historical Collections, silent witnesses to the defence of the Pope in the modern age.

The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to admire up close a selection of morions, zucchetti, horse helmets, burgonet helmets and caschetti – often previously unseen artefacts – belonging to the Pontificial militias in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A journey through the history of papal defence, between art and power, faith and force, in which every object tells us about the lives of the men-at-arms who guarded the Pope and the territories of the Papal States in an age marked by religious conflicts, territorial wars and institutional reforms.

The helmet, the undisputed focus of the exhibition, is interpreted not only as a defensive instrument, but also as an allegorical symbol of spiritual authority, which took on a political and military dimension during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. This was the era in which the papacy transformed into a modern state, where the protection of the Pope became a strategic and ideological issue. The exhibition recreates this complex universe through objects of the highest aesthetic quality and historical value, capable of evoking, in the silence of iron, the powerful voice of centuries of history.

Among the items on display are the pointed crested morion, a helmet typical of the Papal Guard; the zucchetto, worn by musketeers and arquebusiers; the Swiss pikeman's hat, linked to the tradition of the Papal Swiss Guard, the only armed corps in the world that still wears a Renaissance helmet today; and the horse helmet, used by the Broken Lances, often decorated with noble coats of arms such as that of the Barberini family. The exhibition is completed by light and ceremonial burgonet helmets and the rare papal tailcoat, which belonged to a cuirassier of the seventeenth century.

In the exhibition, the weapons become art and storytelling: the engraved decorations, the mythological and symbolic motifs, and the naturalistic profiles reflect not only the style of an era, but also the range of values associated with it. The helmet is not only protection, but also narration, identity and ideology.

The exhibition is set in a historical context rich in meaning: from the Sack of Rome in 1527 to the War of Castro in the seventeenth century, the Church faced an era in which spiritual power required material defences. In this context, elite corps were created and a military culture developed, based on absolute loyalty to the Pope and awareness of their role in defending the Ecclesia militans.

The Sala dei Papi (Hall of Popes) displays a tapestry depicting The Conversion of Saul, Raphael's tapestry for the Sistine Chapel, presenting this precious textile artefact, which belongs to the series of tapestries depicting the Acts of the Apostles intended to adorn the lower part of the walls of the Sistine Chapel, which are periodically exhibited at the Papal Palace.

To carry out this important undertaking, Pope Leo X turned to one of the greatest painters of all time, Raphael Sanzio, and the most experienced and renowned tapestry maker of the time, Pieter Van Aelst from Brussels. Thus, Raphael, assisted by his pupils, designed the cartoons for the tapestries, a veritable monumental cycle painted on paper depicting the stories of the two Apostles Peter and Paul, champions and witnesses of faith, to be translated into large and magnificent tapestries.

The work belongs to the Tapestry and Textile Department of the Vatican Museums, curated by Alessandra Rodolfo.

The event will be presented at the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo in the presence of Barbara Jatta, Director of the Vatican Museums, Andrea Tamburelli, Director of the Pontifical Villas, and Sandro Barbagallo, Curator of the Department of Historical Collections, with the assistance of Marco Iuffrida.

“With its elegant layout and engaging narrative, comments Barbara Jatta, Director of the Vatican Museums, “‘In the Pope’s Defence’ is not just an exhibition: it is a tribute to the men-at-arms who served the Apostolic See with discipline and honour. It is an invitation to reflect on the meaning of protection over time: defence of a body, yes, but also of an idea, a mission, a thousand-year-old institution”.

“Defending the Pope is not defending a throne, but a principle; not earthly power, but a spiritual mission that spans the centuries.
In fact, the Pope has never had a large army, but he has been able to count on good allies, faithful hearts and devoted hands.
When the Church of Rome was threatened, it was not only weapons that saved it, but the love of its sons, because defending the Pope, yesterday as today, means defending human dignity, the truth of the Gospel and freedom of conscience.
It is in this context that stories of men of arms and faith intertwine, whose morions – like those on display here – are not simply military headgear, but relics of continuity: symbols of an oath kept through five centuries, amid reforms, revolutions and world wars”, says Sandro Barbagallo.

Programme

Saturday 18 October 2025

Papal Palace, Castel Gandolfo
11.30 – Beginning of the presentation, with the following speakers:

Barbara Jatta – Director of Museums and Cultural Heritage
Andrea Tamburelli – Director of the Pontifical Villas
Sandro Barbagallo – Curator of the Department of Historical Collections
Marco Iuffrida – Department of Historical Collections

Exhibition details

18 October 2025 – 1 February 2026

Access to all current exhibitions is free of charge and included in the entry ticket to the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo (which may be visited, with or without a guide, together with the Garden of the Moor and the Secret Garden).

Journalists and media operators who wish to participate in the presentation must apply via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system, at press.vatican.va/accreditamenti

All requests must be received at least 24 hours before the event.

Info: stampa.musei@scv.va