The Life of a Swiss Guard: A Private View

Name: The Life of a Swiss Guard: A Private View
Start: 2017-02-04T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2017-03-26T23:59:59-04:00

February 4, 2017

This event is now over.

Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company Museum
Armory 4th Floor, Faneuil Hall
Boston, Massachusetts

February 4 – March 26, 2017
Weekdays 9:30 AM – 3 PM
Weekends 10:30 AM – 3PM

FREE TO THE PUBLIC

“The Life of a Swiss Guard” was originally displayed in the Vatican Museums Cortile delle Corazze during the spring of 2016. The New England Chapter is privileged to host this exhibition in Boston’s Faneuil Hall.

This exhibition is designed to travel to other cities. It is already scheduled to open in Los Angeles California, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, from December 1, 2016 to January 15, 2017. Other cities such as Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Washington DC, and Miami, are hoping to host the exhibition in the near future. It is an ideal setting for events related to the Patrons of the Arts, and other groups who desire to express their dedication to the Pope and their love for the rich tradition of the Catholic Church.

Photographer Fabio Mantegna has captured on film an intimate view of the life of the men who make up the Swiss Guard. Over a period of several weeks, he was fully immersed in the daily lives of these men, dedicated to protecting the Supreme Pontiff. From his vantage point as an insider to this highly visible, yet scarcely understood military corps, emerges through his photographic art a rare insight into their collective identity, but also their individual personality, all of which is sealed by their oath to lay down their lives, if necessary, in defense of the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Saint Peter.

Mantegna shares with us his privileged view of:

The swearing in of the new recruits
Their miltary training and schooling
Their often unnoticed turns on the watch
Their presence among the crowds of pilgrims
Their daily lives as soldiers and as young men

An Exhibition at the Vatican Museums

Exhibit Overview

Military paraphernalia passed down from generation to generation of this military corps steeped in honored traditions
80 photographs that disclose the dedication within the hearts of men who take the oath as members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard

Curator

Dr. Romina Cometti is the conservation projects manager for the Office of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums and curator of “The Life of a Swiss Guard” exhibition. Dr. Cometti coordinates the travel and display logistics for this exhibition in the host cities.

The Photographer

Fabio Mantegna works with his photography in the contemporary art world. He collaborates with ACACIA –Associazione Amici Arte Contemporanea Italiana, Fondazione Marconi, Fondazione Mudima and for several photographic workshops with contemporary art artists like: Daniel Spoerri, Turi Simeti, Umberto Eco, Alberto Casiraghi, Philip Corner, Gillo Dorfles, Achille Bonito Oliva, Jannis Kounellis, Antonio Dias, Nanni Balestrini, Matteo Pugliese, Valentino Vago, Fabrizio Plessi, Arnaldo Pomodoro,Yoko Ono, Lee Ufan, Ben Vautier, Arturo Schwarz, Emilio Isgrò and many others. He lives and works in Milan.