Vatican City - St. Peter's Square: No One Stopped Us
The Swiss Guard has held this post since 1506. They've never seen this before. Operational notes from St. Peter's Square, where no one radioed for backup.
FIELD NOTES
Armor Field Note: St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, Italy
HK7335 and I approached from the Tiber side at first light, the ellipse of Bernini's colonnade opening ahead of us like a trap designed to look welcoming. One hundred and forty saints watched from the roofline. I respected that.
The Swiss Guard intercepted us before we reached the colonnade. They wear halberds and striped doublets that predate most conflicts I have studied, and they carry themselves accordingly. A civilian in a sleeveless shirt was turned away at the same checkpoint, which I noted as useful context. The Guard has been operational since 1506, and their enforcement posture suggests institutional memory runs deep. HK7335 attempted to present credentials. The Guard was not interested in credentials.
The square itself is open daily and costs nothing to enter, which should have simplified our approach. Arrive before 0800 if you want the ellipse to yourself before the tour groups form columns of their own. The two marble discs embedded in the pavement are worth locating: stand on either one and Bernini's four rows of columns collapse into a single perfect line. The basilica interior is free but requires covered shoulders and knees, a standard we met in all respects except the armor and the blaster. Wednesday mornings the Pope holds general audience in the square, which draws crowds well above the site's listed capacity of 300,000. Plan accordingly or do not plan at all.
The colonnade holds 284 columns arranged with the kind of geometric precision that suggests whoever commissioned this understood that architecture is also intimidation. HK7335 approved.
We were escorted to the perimeter by two Guards who did not raise their halberds, which I took as professional courtesy from one standing military unit to another.
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