THE DISPLAY OF THE SHROUD OF TURIN - 10 APRIL to 23 MAY 2010

The Shroud of Turin (Sacra Sindone) will be on rare public display at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin from the 10th April to 23rd May 2010.

The Shroud, one of the most interesting and controversial relics in Christendom, was last exhibited 10 years ago. We are fascinated by this event and we welcome visitors coming to view this historically important article to stay with us

Villa Sampaguita is only 40 minutes by car or train to Turin - and we offer country style hospitality in the heart of Piedmont’s famous wine country -so you can combine your visit to the Shroud with some touring of wineries, hill-top towns with fabulous trattorie (Piedmont is the home of the Slow Food movement) and other interesting religious sites such as the Sacra di San Michele , the Santuario di Crea and the Casale Synagogue.

This will be an extremely popular and internationally renowned event, and we urge you to make your plans early. A booking is required to visit the Shroud, which can be arranged at www.sindone.org.

We are currently taking accommodation reservations for this event, and can organise travel to Turin and other details to help with your stay. Should you require further information, please feel free to contact us directly.

SHROUD OF TURIN STORY

The shroud, a linen cloth kept in the Turin’s Duomo (Cathedral) has a holographic negative photo image of a life-size bearded-man bearing marks consistent with a crucifixion. It is widely believed to be the actual burial shroud in which the body of Christ was wrapped and miraculously imprinted with his image.

Until June of 2008, the next public exhibition of the Shroud of Turin was scheduled to occur in Turin, in the year 2025, to coincide with the next Holy Year of the Catholic Church. This was decided upon and announced in the year 2000 by Pope John Paul II. However, on June 2, 2008, Pope Benedict announced that the Archbishop of Turin had asked his permission to move the date up and he agreed. Consequently the next public exhibition will now take place in 2010.

The known provenance of the Shroud is dated back to 1357 when it was displayed in the church at Lirey in France and was venerated by pilgrims. The Savoy family acquired the relic in 1453 and kept it on display in Chambery, before moving it to Turin in 1578 when the family became the rulers of Piedmont. Early history is shrouded in mystery; the Shroud is thought to have been in the possession of the Knights Templar who brought it to Paris from Constantinople after the sack of that city in 1205. And it is also believed that the Shroud is in fact the “Image of Edessa”, a similar relic, first written about around 544 and later brought to Constantinople in 944.

The Shroud has been surrounded in controversy since it was first displayed to the public in Lirey, with pilgrims believing that is the burial cloth with Christ’s image and sceptics claiming that is a fake relic, a medieval painting on cloth. The photo-negative imagery was only discovered in 1898 after it was photographed for the first time, which led to a scientific investigations in the 20th Century. The church allowed a swatch to be carbon dated in 1988 and the results placed it around 13-14th Century or at the same time as it was first displayed, and researchers claim to have discovered traces of pigment in the samples, giving credence to the sceptics. However in recent years opinion has swung against these findings that apparently were made on a piece of the border restored after the fire damage in 1534 and not the original material. It is also hard to explain how a medieval painter would have the knowledge to paint a negative image and a 3-D one at that. Other recent researchers have found particles of plant material only grown in Palestine, which would have been very difficult to find at that time in Europe.

Of course conspiracy theories swirl around the Shroud; one has Leonardo di Vinci painting it, another is it is a real image, but of Jacques de Molay, last grand master of the Templars, burned at the stake during the persecution of the order in 1314. The latest controversy is about the restoration made in 2002 in which patches sewn on after the 1534 fire-damage were removed and the backing cloth from the same time replaced. However this allowed the back of the Shroud to be photographed and scanned for the first time and a second image was revealed corresponding to the first.

Whatever the real story, and whether you are a believer or a sceptic, or willing to suspend belief, the Shroud of Turin is a historically significant article as well as an important relic. The chance to see it on display is a rare opportunity; who knows when will be the next time it is exhibited?

For further interest we recommend the following sites.

Shroud of Turin - Wikipedia detailed history, analysis, links etc.

No One Can Explain Shroud of Turin Pictures of Jesus - A journalist sceptic becomes a believer

The Shroud of Turin and the Mystery Surrounding its Authenticity - Crime TV: Sacred Relic or Religious Hoax?

Welcome to Shroud Enhanced Images - A site with high resolution pictures and scans

Shroud Exhibitions - Information about the 2010 exhibition and earlier exhibitions

Site Design by Erin Brewer