How much does the pope's hat cost?

Answer 1

A:

The actual cost of the pope's tiara or his mitre is confidential, but we can marvel at their beauty and imagine just how much they cost.

The Papal Tiara is a magnificent three-tiered crown which was used at papal coronations between 1305 and 1963. Although no longer used in papal coronations, there are 22 remaining papal tiaras, most of which are heavily bejewelled. Each one would have cost a small fortune. When Pope Gregory XII pawned his tiara in 1406, to pay gambling debts incurred before becoming pope, it brought him 6,000 florins, a huge sum for the time.

Three types of mitres are worn for different occasions:

1. The simplex, made of undecorated white silk and its white lappets traditionally end in red fringes.
2. The pretiosa ('precious'), decorated with precious stones and gold
3. The auriphrygiata is of plain gold cloth or white silk with gold, silver or coloured embroidered bands.

Any one of these mitres as worn by the pope would cost a handsome fortune, but especially the pretiosa.

The popes also wear the zucchetto (a small skullcap) or the camauro, both of which are relatively low cost compared to the papal tiara and mitre.