Corsican Guard

Guardia Corsa
Soldier, officer and high officer of the Corsican Guard in 1656, after "La Corse militaire", by Marquis Paul D'Ornano (1904)
Active	1603–1662
Country	Papal States
Type	Infantry
Role	Honour guard urban militia
Size	600–700
Garrison/HQ	Rome
Commanders
Notable commanders	Mario Chigi

The Corsican Guard (Italian and Corsican: Guardia Corsa) was a military unit of the Papal States composed exclusively of Corsican mercenaries on duty in Rome, having the functions of an urban militia and guard for the Pope.

Preceded by several militias composed of Corsicans since the fifteenth century, the Corsican Guard was formally founded in 1603 under Pope Clement VIII. The unit was disbanded in 1662 upon request of the French king Louis XIV, following an incident between Corsican soldiers and Frenchmen near the French Embassy in Rome at Palazzo Farnese.

The presence of Corsican expatriates in the vicinity of Rome is attested since at least the 9th century, when a small Corsican colony existed in Porto near Fiumicino during the pontificate of Pope Leo IV (r. 847–55); the existence of a Corsican nunnery along the Appian Way is known from the same period. In more recent times, Corsican emigration to Rome slowly began after the end of the Avignon papacy during the 15th century, at which point the city again offered job opportunities to immigrants. Previously, the traditional emigration areas of the Corsicans, pushed to leave their country by the poverty and anarchy reigning in Corsica during the Middle Ages, had been Liguria and Pisa, but during the 15th century Corsicans began to settle in Sienese and Latial Maremma, and from there in Rome. Initially, they were living scattered about in the city's rioni. However, at the onset of 16th century, they were concentrated on Tiber Island and in the part of Trastevere lying between the harbour of Ripa Grande and the church of San Crisogono. The center of their community was the now disappeared Piazza dell'Olmo ("Elm square"). San Crisogono became the national church and cemetery basilica of the Corsican nation in Rome, and over the centuries was used as the burial place of several Corsican military officers. Originally, the Corsicans were only able to find humble jobs in the city and its surroundings, mostly in the areas of sheep breeding and wine trading (the island's wines were much sought after during that period). The only exceptions to the aforementioned trades included becoming a priest, a servant in the Vatican palaces, or a soldier in the employ of the Pope or the Roman baroni; consequently, they did not become well integrated into Roman society.