Meet the Roman tailors behind the pope's first look

Yahoo

08-05-2025

As the papal conclave ends with the emergence of white smoke from the Sistine Chapel to signify the selection of a new pope, tailors are creating the papal vestments — the pope's official attire.
For centuries, papal garments have been crafted along Rome's cobblestone streets near the Vatican, where skilled artisans maintain traditions dating back generations.
Raniero Mancinelli, whose shop opened in the 1960s just steps from the Vatican, has prepared three cassocks in different sizes for the new pontiff.
"Tres size... Small medium, large," the 86-year-old told CBS News through a translator. "You don't know if the next Pope is going to be small, medium or large."
Having worked with three popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, Mancinelli hopes to add a fourth to his prestigious client list.
When asked which pope was his favorite, Mancinelli laughed and responded in Italian, "Secreto."
The Gammarelli family represents the other prominent papal tailoring establishment. Their business, now in its sixth generation and led by Alessia Gammarelli, the family's first female proprietor, has served eight popes over their 200-year history.
The pope's basic garment is a hand-stitched, white wool cassock, sometimes adorned with a burgundy, elbow-length cape — a feature Pope Francis chose not to wear. The outfit is completed with a white skullcap called a zucchetto.
When questioned about future papal style preferences, Gammarelli said, "I don't know. Good question."
While Gammarelli has seen images of papal vestments hanging inside the Vatican's Room of Tears, she said she can't confirm they're her family's work until the new pope makes his first public appearance.
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