Military in Vatican City

It has no formal military compact or agreement with neighbouring Italy, although responsibility for defending the Vatican City from an international aggressor is likely to lie primarily with the Italian Armed Forces.

[4] The Palatine Guard (Italian: Guardia Palatina d'Onore) was formed in 1850 by Pope Pius IX, through amalgamation of two older units of the Papal Army.

The guardsmen patrolled the walls, gardens, and courtyards of Vatican City, and stood guard at the entrances to papal buildings around Rome.

On more than one occasion this service resulted in violent confrontations with Italian fascist police units working with the German authorities to arrest political refugees who were hiding in buildings protected by the Vatican.

The Guard performed special missions within the Papal States until their abolition, and then continued to function at the Vatican with a limited mounted escort role.

During World War Two members of the unit mounted guard outside the papal apartments by night and day, and guardsmen armed with pistols provided close protection to Pope Pius XII when he took his daily walks in the Vatican Gardens.

As its membership was drawn exclusively from families of noble origin (from nobility across Europe) it came to be seen as elitist, and it was abolished on 14 September 1970 by Pope Paul VI.

Since the attempted assassination of the Pope in 1981 the Swiss Guard has undertaken more rigorous training, and a far more active security role, alongside its traditional ceremonial duties.

All recruits complete basic military training with the Swiss Army before transferring to the Vatican,[9] and must be Catholics and at least 174 cm (5 ft 8.5 in) in height.

The elaborate ceremonial uniform (of 19th-century origin) included bearskin headdresses with red plumes, black coatees with white-fringed epaulettes, white doeskin breeches, and knee-high riding boots.