The swiss guards

Every day, hordes of travellers gather around entrances at the Vatican, gazing in amusement at the brightly-clad Swiss Guards. Ordinary tourists become paparazzi as camera flashes explode like it’s Oscar night. But the attention, says one Swiss Guard, is frustrating. “People take the photos for our uniforms, not for us,” says Yves Luthi, his hands pressed over his heart as he emphasises “us.” “You are not a person.”

Yves, 22, a Swiss Guard for 8 months, is far from the serious facade he presents when on duty. He is relaxed and witty, joking with his friend and fellow guard Niccola Mottini, 25, as we sip on fresh OJ in a cafe near their barracks. They realise it is the eye-catching Renaissance get-up which fascinates the public, so they know the incessant photography goes hand-in-hand with the job.

“It is normal. It is the legendary Swiss Guard!” Yves says, obviously proud.

“So you stand…” (he puts on a bored expression) “you smile.” He presses his lips together in a smile somewhere between amusement and boredom, as if to silently add, “and you deal with it.”

Niccola and Yves are part of a 500-year old organisation devoted to protecting the pope. Pope Julius II, who patronized artists including Raphael and Michelangelo, swore in the first unit of Swiss Guards on January 21, 1506. In the early 16th century, Swiss mercenaries had gained a winning reputation around Europe. They had previously been employed by the papacy to defend and expand the area of sovereignty. However, when they were employed by Pope Julius II, their role was not to defend the territory but to protect the pope and guard his palace. Today, the guards are still exclusively Swiss. There are currently about 100, the maximum being 110, who come from all the cantons of Switzerland. Niccola is from the southern Italian speaking area, while Yves, from Zurich, speaks German as his first language. But to be eligible for the Swiss Guard they must also be Catholic, between 18-30 years old, and have completed military service and high school (or an apprenticeship) in Switzerland. They serve for two years, with the possibility of extending the period.

The uniforms which attract so much attention were not, as many people think, designed by Michelangelo. The current suits were designed by a Commander, Jules Rupond, in 1914-1915. Rupond carefully studied the various outfits throughout the history of the Swiss Guard before settling on the current design. The red, yellow and blue are the colors of the Medici family, probably added to the costumes by Pope Leo X, paraded in his elaborate inauguration ceremony in 1514. Today, they are made by one man, Ety Cicioni, the Swiss Guard tailor. They are made from 146 separate pieces of fabric, tailored to each individual Swiss Guard and taking up to 2 months to make. And they are hot, especially in Italy’s 40°C+ summer, Yves says. Add a heavy sword to the ensemble and you don’t have a particularly comfortable job.

“By the end of the day, you are like this,” Yves droops one shoulder lower than the other, indicating the effects of the weighty sword after standing for nine hours.

This begins to paint a tedious picture of the Swiss Guards’ job-enduring long shifts, standing stock still in an increasingly warm period costume, which is cause for millions of people to peer at them as though they are another Vatican Museum exhibit. But with millions of tourists descending on Rome each year, there are bound to be some unusual occurrences to add a little entertainment to the monotony.

Niccola cannot recall anything in particular, even after 20 months as a Swiss Guard. Perhaps strange people become an ordinary part of the job too. But do people ever try and barge past the entrances, I probe, thinking how mysterious the Scala Regia, the guarded passageway to the Apostolic Palace and residence of the Pope, looks even to me.

This triggers Yves’s memory, who becomes animated again.

“Sure, you have people who think they are Jesus or Mary coming up to you! Once, a man tried to get past me, he said ‘I am the new pope!’ I said, ‘b-but we have a pope!,’” Yves says, pointing upwards, indicating the pope’s apartment above Yves’s station.

“He said, ‘I will kill him!’”

Although the Swiss Guard are trained in judo and karate, Niccola and Yves explain they must first use words to discourage troublemakers and disillusioned tourists. However, each guard has taken an oath to “give his life if necessary to safeguard the pope.” Therefore, their own lives, rather than the lives of others, are at stake if the pope is violently threatened. This happened on a large scale during Charles V’s sack of Rome in 1527. One hundred and forty-seven Swiss Guards died defending Pope Clement VII as he fled to Castel Sant’ Angelo. A monument in the Swiss Guard barracks remembers the lives lost. Yves’s situation with the pontifical pretender was minor in comparison: he promptly called the Italian police, who then dealt with the guy.

Off duty, the guards can live somewhat normal lives. They are residents of the Vatican, its own sovereign country, but are allowed to leave their barracks to explore Rome in their spare time, although there is not a lot of that. They work two days on, one day off. However, if a diplomat is scheduled to meet the Pope, they must work regardless. After one year’s service they can return to Switzerland for a two week or one month vacation. Having a girlfriend is difficult, though some do. Niccola buries his head in his hands at the mention of this subject, and Yves pats him consolingly on the shoulder. There is a little romance going on, Yves says, nodding towards his friend, but Niccola laughs and shrugs it off.

So what is it that attracts these young Swiss away from their country to work in the Vatican? Yves says for him, it was a combination of the job description and location, location, location!

“The Swiss Guard has existed for 500 years, you see it on television. You work for the Pope, and that is nice work. I like the language, I like the atmosphere. The people are easy, it is not stressful.”

Niccola stresses that the guard can only work for humble reasons. “You do not work for the money. You work for the pope and for the experience. You cannot work if you do not like the pope.”

But for both of them, there seems to be three major reasons, summed up perfectly by Niccola. “The pope. The friends,” Niccola swats Yves across the shoulder, laughing. “E’ una grande esperienza.”

A great experience indeed — where else beside Disneyland can you get paid decent money to carry a halberd and wear red, yellow and blue pantaloons?

More articles about Rome