In Defence of the Pope
A collection of helmets from the 16th and 17th Centuries
Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo (Rome)
On the occasion of the Jubilee 2025, the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage, in collaboration with the Directorate of the Pontifical Villas, is promoting a dual exhibition project, to be inaugurated on 18 October at the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo. The cultural offering involves the opening of the exhibition “In Defence of the Pope. A collection of helmets from the 16th and 17th sixteenth Centuries”, curated by Sandro Barbagallo with the assistance of Marco Iuffrida, alongside the display of the tapestry “The Conversion of Saint Paul”.
The exhibition “In Defence of the Pope” presents to the public for the first time a selection of rare original helmets and defensive gear from the storage deposits of the Historical Collections of the Vatican Museums: authentic silent witnesses to the defence of the Pontiff in the modern age. A unique opportunity to admire up close a selection of morions, zucchetti, horse helmets, burgonet helmets and cheek pieces – 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. With a refined layout, “In Defence of the Pope” offers a journey that invites visitors to reflect on the meaning of protection throughout the centuries, not only physical, but also spiritual and symbolic, in defence of an idea, a mission, a thousand-year-old institution.
The exquisite tapestry “The Conversion of Saint Paul”, a refined textile artefact made of wool and silver thread, of Flemish manufacture, will be displayed for an entire semester in the Hall of Popes. The work belongs to the Acts of the Apostles series, and is a tribute to the genius of Raphael Sanzio, who drew the preparatory cartoons commissioned by Pope Leo X to embellish the Sistine Chapel during solemn celebrations. The work comes from the Tapestries and Textiles Department of the Vatican Museums, directed by Alessandra Rodolfo. The tapestry, the first of the Pauline cycle, depicts the decisive moment of his conversion: Saul, the future Saint Paul, lies on the ground while he hears the voice of Jesus, who appears among the clouds surrounded by a halo of golden rays. In the foreground, the sword – the saint’s primary iconographic attribute – becomes a symbol of passage: from persecutor to preacher, from soldier to martyr, on a journey of conversion that will transform Saul into the Apostle of the Gentiles.
The ticket for the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo includes access to all current exhibitions, the Garden of the Moor and the Secret Garden, with the possibility of a guided or autonomous tour.
