The National Institute for the Honour Guard of the Royal Tombs of the Pantheon (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Istituto nazionale per la guardia d'onore alle reali tombe del Pantheon'') is an Italian paramilitary company, originally chartered by the House of Savoy and subsequently operating with authorization of the

Italian Republic Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, which mounts guards of honor at the royal tombs of the

Roman Pantheon The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see ''interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek mythology, Greek myths, ancient Greek art, iconography, and sometimes Religion in ancient Greece, ...

. The organization was founded in 1878. As of 2014 it had about 4,000 personnel, of whom between 15 and 20 percent were women. Members, uniformed in black berets and cloaks bearing the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

, volunteer to assume shifts guarding the tombs of the Savoy dynasty. Enlistment in the Honour Guard is open to Italian citizens who "share the aims of the Institute" and pay an initiation fee of €100, however, a majority of the total membership must be veterans of the Italian Armed Forces.

References

{{reflist House of Savoy Organizations established in 1878