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# №054 — Swiss Guard, Vatican
- URL: https://www.readingrome.com/054-swiss-guard-vatican/
- Published: 2026-10-20T09:42:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-20T09:42:20.000Z
- Author: Maria Chugrova

The Swiss Guard arrived in 1506: 150 mercenaries hired by Pope Julius II because Swiss soldiers were considered among the best in Europe. The striped uniform is often credited to Michelangelo, but that's a myth. It dates to the early 1900s, in the colors of the Della Rovere and Medici popes. A 500-year-old guard in a uniform barely a century old. RR