zucchetto

The zucchetto originated as the Paleo-Balkanic pileus and is related to the beret (which itself was originally a large zucchetto). The official name of the zucchetto —pileolus— means "small pileus" in latin.{{cite web |title=pileolus |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pileolus |website=Merriam-Webster |access-date=9 May 2025 |quote=a small pileus}} Clerics adopted the style circa the Early Middle Ages or earlier,{{cite book |author1= |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/zucchetto |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=8 February 2024 |chapter=zucchetto |quote=zucchetto was developed from the pileus—a close-fitting, brimless hat commonly worn by the Romans—and has probably been worn by ecclesiastics since the 13th century. It is likely that the cap was originally used to cover the tonsured (shaved) heads of clergy in cold churches |access-date=9 May 2025}} to keep their heads warm and to insulate the tonsure.{{Cite book |first= James-Charles |last= Noonan |url= http://worldcat.org/oclc/748330195 |title= The church visible : the ceremonial life and protocol of the Roman Catholic Church |date= 2012 |publisher= Sterling Ethos |isbn= 978-1-4027-8730-0 |pages= 305–308 |oclc=748330195}} | quote = Originally introduced to protect the crown of the head bared by the tonsure, it is now worn oblivious to that need. The name "zucchetto" derives from its resemblance to half a pumpkin.

Compare:

{{oed | zucchetto}} - from Italian zucchetta or zucchetto ("a small gourd" or "cap"); itself from zucca ("gourd" or "the head").

It is similar to the Jewish kippah or yarmulke, but typically differs in construction, with the zucchetto made of separate joined sections and color-coordinated to clerical status. It is normally used only by clergy and not by ordinary people, which also differs from the kippah. The resemblance between the two types of headgear is often seen as being deliberate but the zucchetto is distinct from{{sfn|Marshall|2009|pp=11, 13|ps=: "[...] the Pope does not actually wear a yarmulke, but a zucchetto [...]. [...] many similarities between biblical Judaism and Catholicism are incidental, as in the case of the yarmulke."}} and predates the skullcap style of kippah and yarmulke by hundreds of years.{{cite news |author1=Mira Fox |title=Cardinals are Catholic, not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes? |url=https://forward.com/culture/716254/catholic-cardinal-yarmulke-kippah-vatican-pope-francis/ |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=The Forward |date=3 May 2025 |language=en |quote=the shape and form of a kippah is far more modern than the practice of covering one’s head. Jews wore hats of all shapes and sizes throughout history. Even the so-called “Jewish hat” which was required of Jews in the Middle Ages looked nothing like today’s kippah; it was tall and conical. While Jews may have worn smaller caps, closer to kippot, at various points in history or in certain regions, it wasn’t a consistent practice}}

{{More citations needed|section|date=July 2021}}

Image:Gamarelli Papal zucchetto20050412.jpgs and popes emeriti]]

File:Bishops miragoli and malvestiti.jpg

File:Zucchetto.jpg

File:Gunnar Rosendahl.jpg, a Lutheran priest of the Church of Sweden, wearing a zucchetto]]

In Catholicism, the modern zucchetto is most commonly made of silk. The design utilises eight gores or triangular panels that are joined at the tips to form a hemispherical skullcap. Jutting from the central tip of the zucchetto is the "stem", known as stirpis or stirpes. It is made of a twisted loop of silk cord and is meant to make handling the zucchetto easier. The stirpes is the primary visual distinction between the zucchetto and the Jewish kippah.{{Cite web |title=Why Does the Pope Wear a Kippah? |url=https://www.jta.org/jewniverse/2014/why-does-the-pope-wear-a-kippah |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}}

The zucchetto traditionally has a lining of thin white chamois as an insulator; this is also to help keep the shape of the zucchetto. Inside the trim, there is a strip of velvet to ensure a secure and comfortable fit. Most modern zucchetto designs include a cloth lining, and the contemporary trend is using ordinary synthetic cloth with a simple, natural cloth lining.{{sfn|McCloud|1948|pp=79–81}}

The color of the zucchetto in Catholicism denotes the office held by the wearer:

File:Solideo papal, cardenalicia, episcopal y sacerdotal.svg

• {{Color sample|white}} the pope's zucchetto is white, and Benedict XVI continued to wear a white zucchetto as Pope Emeritus,{{sfn|McCloud|1948|pp=79–80}}{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/02/26/172963324/pope-emeritus-benedict-vxi-will-wear-white-but-trade-in-red-shoes | title='Pope Emeritus' Benedict XVI Will Wear White, but Trade in Red Shoes | work=NPR | date=26 February 2013 | last1=Neuman | first1=Scott }}
• members of religious orders with white habits (e.g., Norbertines) also may wear a white zucchetto made of wool.
• {{Color sample|#FF2400}} those worn by cardinals are scarlet;
• {{Color sample|#E52B50}} those of archbishops, bishops, territorial abbots and territorial prelates are amaranth;
• {{Color sample|black}} non-territorial abbots, priests and deacons may wear a black zucchetto, although most do not.

Some Franciscans have adopted the practice of wearing a brown zucchetto to match their brown habit.{{Cite web |title=RKIA EXPLAINS THE MASS -- PART 3 |url=https://stlambert.org/news/rkia-explains-the-mass-part-3}}

File:Dionysius.jpg , a German Franciscan friar, wearing a zucchetto]]

The most common Lutheran and Anglican design can be similar to the Catholic zucchetto or, far more often, similar to the Jewish kippah.anglicanhistory.org{{citation needed|date= August 2021}} A form of the zucchetto is worn by Anglican bishops and is used approximately like that of the Catholic Church. The Anglican "skullcap" differs from the zucchetto primarily in that it is made of six panels, bears a button at centre of the crown, and is of slightly larger dimensions. The other exception is that instead of the Catholic "church violet", Anglican churches usually (but not always) use purple caps on bishops. {{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

File:ArchbishopDolben.jpg , Anglican Archbishop of York, wearing a skullcap ]]

In the Syriac Orthodox tradition, a seven-panel zucchetto called a {{transliteration|syc|phiro}} is worn by nearly all priests. It is always black and embroidered with black Orthodox crosses.{{sfn|Kilgour|1958}}

Clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Austrian Empire wore zucchettos (Serbian: ћелепуш) in order to look more similar to the Catholic clergy.{{Cite book |last=Nikolajević |first=Vasilije |title=Veliki Tipik (Ustav Crkveni) |date=1892 |language=Serbian}}{{Cite web |title=ПИТАЊА (И ОДГОВОРИ) ЧТЕЦУ ПРЕД ПРОИЗВОДСТВО – Светосавље |url=https://svetosavlje.org/pitanja-i-odgovori-ctecu-pred-proizvodstvo/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=svetosavlje.org |language=Serbian}}{{Cite web |title=Vladika pravio uniforme |url=https://arhiva.vesti-online.com/Riznica/Vesti/685406/Vladika-pravio-uniforme |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Vesti online |language=en}}

All ordained men in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church are entitled to wear the black zucchetto unless promoted to a higher office, and it is worn with either the cassock or liturgical vestments, never a suit.{{Cite web |last=Emerson |first=Charles |date=September 2016 |title=A Short Primer on the Zucchetto |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59dc5f0459cc688076bc708e/t/5ab019cc1ae6cfb73b427466/1521490381839/Zucchetto+-+Everson.pdf}} When a biretta or mitre is worn, a zucchetto is always worn underneath, hence its other names of subbirettum and submitrale.{{sfnm |1a1=Braun |1y=1912 |2a1=McCloud |2y=1948 |2p=79}}

The common tradition is for the cleric to obtain the zucchetto either from an ecclesiastical tailor or a retail church supply. There is also a tradition of friends buying a newly appointed bishop his first zucchetto.{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-04-07-pope-tailor_x.htm | work=USA Today | location=McLean, Virginia | first1=Noelle | last1=Knox | title=Tailor pays tribute | date=April 7, 2005 |access-date=September 21, 2017}}

A lower-ranking prelate must always doff his skullcap to a higher-ranking prelate; all prelates must remove their zucchetti in the presence of the pope, unless the pope prefers otherwise.{{sfn|McCloud|1948|pp=79–80}}

The zucchetto is worn throughout most of the Mass, is removed at the commencement of the Preface, and replaced at the conclusion of Communion, when the Blessed Sacrament is put away. The zucchetto is also not worn at any occasion where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed. A short zucchetto stand known as a funghellino (lit. "little mushroom", usually made of brass or wood) can be placed near the altar to provide a safe place for the zucchetto when it is not being worn.{{sfnm |1a1=Braun |1y=1912 |2a1=McCloud |2y=1948 |2p=79}}

Prelates often give away their skullcaps to the faithful. The practice, which was started in the modern era by Pope Pius XII, involves giving the zucchetto to the faithful, as a keepsake, if presented with a new one as a gift. Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis have continued the custom.{{sfn|Duffy|2006}} The pope might choose not to give the visitor his own zucchetto, but rather place the gift zucchetto on his head for a moment as a blessing, then return it to the giver. The above popes mentioned, bishops, cardinals and archbishops such as Fulton J. Sheen frequently gave their old zucchetti in exchange for the newly offered one; Sheen also gave his zucchetto as a keepsake to laity who requested it.{{sfn|Duffy|2006}}

In one episode of the TV show Pawn Stars, Father Richard Kunst, curator of Papal Artifacts website, was called to authenticate a zucchetto said to have belonged to Pope Pius XII during World War II. The show’s producers reached out to him because of his expertise in papal memorabilia. Father Kunst confirmed the authenticity of the item, highlighting its historical and religious significance.{{Cite web |title=What Does the TV Series, Pawn Stars, Have to do with the Papal Artifacts' Curator? – Papal Artifacts |url=https://www.papalartifacts.com/what-does-the-tv-series-pawn-stars-have-to-do-with-the-papal-artifacts-curator/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |language=en-US}}

In that episode, Chumlee, one of the shows hosts' objective was to authenticate that zucchetto. They consulted an assistant professor of theology in Rome, who confirmed the zucchetto’s authenticity.{{Cite web |last=Skopp |first=Sam |date=2021-03-12 |title=The Rare Italian Book That Fetched Six Figures On Pawn Stars |url=https://www.looper.com/354540/the-rare-italian-book-that-fetched-six-figures-on-pawn-stars/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=Looper |language=en-US}} {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7zi0BsfH5k |title=Pawn Stars: Rick & Chum's BIG SPLURGE on RARE ITALIAN RELICS (Season 17) {{!}} History |date=2020-05-19 |last=Pawn Stars |access-date=2025-04-28 |via=YouTube}}

File:Pope Pius XII – Michael Pitcairn (1951).jpg

{{Portal|Christianity}}

• List of hat styles
• Taqiyah (cap)
• Skufia
• Philippi Collection
• Kippah or yarmulke

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist|22em}}

{{refbegin|35em|indent=yes}}

• {{cite Catholic Encyclopedia

|last=Braun

|first=Joseph

|wstitle=Zucchetto

|volume=15

|pages=765–766

|via=Wikisource

|noicon=yes

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Duffy

|first=Eamon

|author-link=Eamon Duffy

|year=2006

|title=Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes

|edition=3rd

|location=New Haven, Connecticut

|publisher=Yale University Press

|isbn=978-0-300-11597-0

|url-access=registration

|url=https://archive.org/details/00book1593273669

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Kilgour

|first=Ruth Edwards

|year=1958

|title=A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern

|location=New York

|publisher=R. M. McBride Company

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Marshall

|first=Taylor

|year=2009

|title=The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism and the Origins of Catholic Christianity

|series=The Origins of Catholicism

|volume=1

|location=Dallas, Texas

|publisher=Saint John Press

|isbn=978-0-578-03834-6

}}

• {{cite book

|last=McCloud |first=Henry

|year=1948

|title=Clerical Dress and Insignia of the Roman Catholic Church

|place= Wisconsin |publisher=Bruce Publishing Company

}}

{{refend}}

{{refbegin|35em|indent=yes}}

• {{cite book

|last=Wray

|first=Cecil Daniel

|year=1856

|title=A Short Inquiry Respecting the Vestments of the Priests of the Anglican Church

|url=http://anglicanhistory.org/england/wray_inquiry1856.html

|location=London

|publisher=Joseph Masters

|access-date=December 26, 2011

|via=Project Canterbury

}}

{{refend}}

{{Hats}}

{{Papal symbols and rituals}}

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