Zucchetto

Cardinal Franciszek Macharski with a scarlet zucchetto

The zucchetto or solideo, officially a pileolus, is a small, hemispherical, form-fitting ecclesiastical skullcap worn by clerics of the Catholic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, and by senior clergy in certain denominations of Lutheranism, Anglicanism, and Methodism.

It is also called a pilus, pilos, pileus, pileolo, subbiretum, submitrale, soli deo, berrettino, calotte or calotta.

History

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. Clerics adopted the style around the Early Middle Ages or earlier, to keep their heads warm and to insulate the tonsure. The name zucchetto derives from its resemblance to half a pumpkin. 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 and predates the skullcap style of kippah and yarmulke by hundreds of years.

Construction and design

Dionysius Ortsiefer [de], a German Franciscan friar, 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.

Gunnar Rosendal, a Lutheran priest of the Church of Sweden, wearing a zucchetto

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.

Colors

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

In some cases, the color of the zucchetto may also reflect the religious order of the wearer:

Denominational variation

John Dolben, Anglican Archbishop of York, wearing a skullcap

The most common Evangelical-Lutheran and Anglican design can be similar to the Roman Catholic zucchetto. 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]

In the Syriac Orthodox tradition, a seven-panel zucchetto called a phiro is worn by nearly all priests. It is always black and embroidered with black Orthodox crosses.

Clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Austrian Empire wore zucchetti (Serbian: ћелепуш) in order to look more similar to the Catholic clergy.

Usage

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. For Bishops and Cardinals, when a biretta or mitre is worn, a zucchetto is always worn underneath, hence its other names of subbirettum and submitrale.

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.

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.

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.

Gifting

Popes and other 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, Francis, and Leo XIV have continued the custom. 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.

In an episode the TV show Pawn Stars (season 17), Father Richard Kunst, curator of the Papal Artifacts website, was consulted regarding 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. In that episode, Chumlee, one of the show's hosts, sought to determine whether the zucchetto was genuine, and consulted an assistant professor of theology in Rome who confirmed its authenticity.

In another episode of Pawn Stars (season 7), a pair of slippers and stockings alongside a zucchetto, all of which said to have belonged to Pope Leo XIII, were attempted to be sold to the store where most of these show episodes take place, but at the end they did not make any business with the owner of said items.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ /(t)suːˈkɛtoʊ, zuːˈ-/, also UK: /tsʊˈ-/, US: /zʊˈ-/, Italian: [dzukˈketto]; meaning 'small gourd', from zucca 'pumpkin' or more generally 'gourd'; pl. zucchetti. Compare zucchini, of related origin.
  2. ↑ Compare: "zucchetto". Oxford English Dictionary (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) – from Italian zucchetta or zucchetto ("a small gourd" or "cap"); itself from zucca ("gourd" or "the head").

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 "Zucchetto". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  2. 1 2 "zucchetto" (US) and "zucchetto". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
  3. 1 2 "zucchetto". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. OCLC 1032680871. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  4. ↑ "Zucchétto - Significato ed etimologia - Vocabolario". Treccani.
  5. ↑ "Definition of SOLIDEO". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  6. ↑ Joseph Braun (1913). "Zucchetto" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  7. ↑ "Palm Sunday at St. Augustine's House" (PDF). Lutheran Church - International. 2024. p. 7. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  8. ↑ Kusi, Cynthia Agyeiwaa; Quansah, Sarah Asheley; Boakye-Yiadom, Fredrick (2019-06-06). "'Decoding' the Clerical Vestments of the Methodist Bishop in Charge of Sekondi Dioceses". Fashion and Textiles Review. 1: 136–153. doi:10.35738/ftr.v1.2019.10. ISSN 2665-0983.
  9. ↑ Marshall 2009, pp. 11–13.
  10. ↑ "pileolus". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 9 May 2025. a small pileus
  11. ↑ "zucchetto". Encyclopædia Britannica. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2025. The 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
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Noonan, James-Charles (2012). The church visible : the ceremonial life and protocol of the Roman Catholic Church. Sterling Ethos. pp. 305–308. ISBN 978-1-4027-8730-0. OCLC 748330195. Originally introduced to protect the crown of the head bared by the tonsure, it is now worn oblivious to that need.
  13. ↑ Marshall 2009, pp. 11, 13: "[...] 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."
  14. ↑ Mira Fox (3 May 2025). "Cardinals are Catholic, not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?". The Forward. Retrieved 9 May 2025. 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
  15. ↑ "Why Does the Pope Wear a Kippah?". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  16. ↑ McCloud 1948, pp. 79–81.
  17. 1 2 McCloud 1948, pp. 79–80.
  18. ↑ Neuman, Scott (26 February 2013). "'Pope Emeritus' Benedict XVI Will Wear White, but Trade in Red Shoes". NPR.
  19. ↑ "RKIA EXPLAINS THE MASS -- PART 3". Archived from the original on 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  20. ↑ Kilgour 1958.
  21. ↑ Nikolajević, Vasilije (1892). Veliki Tipik (Ustav Crkveni) (in Serbian).
  22. ↑ "ПИТАЊА (И ОДГОВОРИ) ЧТЕЦУ ПРЕД ПРОИЗВОДСТВО – Светосавље". svetosavlje.org (in Serbian). Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  23. ↑ "Vladika pravio uniforme". Vesti online. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  24. ↑ Emerson, Charles (September 2016). "A Short Primer on the Zucchetto" (PDF).
  25. ↑ Braun 1912; McCloud 1948, p. 79.
  26. ↑ Knox, Noelle (April 7, 2005). "Tailor pays tribute". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  27. ↑ Braun 1912; McCloud 1948, p. 79–81.
  28. 1 2 Duffy 2006.
  29. ↑ "What Does the TV Series, Pawn Stars, Have to do with the Papal Artifacts' Curator? – Papal Artifacts". Retrieved 2025-04-28.
  30. ↑ Skopp, Sam (2021-03-12). "The Rare Italian Book That Fetched Six Figures On Pawn Stars". Looper. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
  31. ↑ Pawn Stars (2020-05-19). Pawn Stars: Rick & Chum's BIG SPLURGE on RARE ITALIAN RELICS (Season 17) | History. Retrieved 2025-04-28 – via YouTube.
  32. ↑ Pawn Stars (2020-11-16). HOLY SLIPPERS Leave Rick SPEECHLESS (Season 7) | Pawn Stars. Retrieved 2025-12-24 – via YouTube.
  33. ↑ Schuhart, Jonah (2021-05-03). "The Papal Item That Rick Did Not Want On Pawn Stars". Looper. Retrieved 2025-12-24.

Bibliography

  • Braun, Joseph (1912). "Zucchetto". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company. pp. 765–766 – via Wikisource.
  • Duffy, Eamon (2006). Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes (3rd ed.). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11597-0.
  • Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern. New York: R. M. McBride Company.
  • Marshall, Taylor (2009). The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism and the Origins of Catholic Christianity. The Origins of Catholicism. Vol. 1. Dallas, Texas: Saint John Press. ISBN 978-0-578-03834-6.
  • McCloud, Henry (1948). Clerical Dress and Insignia of the Roman Catholic Church. Wisconsin: Bruce Publishing Company.

Further reading