Pope brings Italian cool to the USA by swapping the Popemobile for a Fiat 500

He remained in the tiny Italian car for the first of his public engagements

The Pope leaves the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in his pontifical Fiat 500 (JONATHAN ERNST/Reuters)

After touching down at Joint Base Andrews and greeting President Barack Obama, the Pope hopped into a much different vehicle from his usual white 'Popemobile'.

Waiting for the Pope on the tarmac was an all-black Fiat 500, which was dwarfed by the huge blacked-out SUVs that made up the rest of his motorcade.

The Pope waves from his Fiat 500 shortly after landing at Joint Base Andrews (AFP) (SAUL LOEB/AFP)

The Pope remained in the Fiat to travel to some of his first public engagements, bringing a little bit of Rome with him to Washington, where he will remain on an official visit until Thursday 24 September.

The most famous pontifical vehicle is the so-called 'Popemobile', which has appeared in various iterations over the years.

Typically, it takes the form of a large vehicle with some amount of armour or bulletproof glass, often with a raised platform for the Pope to sit or stand on whilst driving through crowds.

However, today's Fiat 500 was understated in comparison, and brought some much-needed Italian flair to the pontiff's first visit to America as pope.