Shroud of Turin to be shown

Is it a fantastic forgery or a miraculous image? Either way, the Shroud of Turin is one of the most researched and most mysterious artifacts in the world. Thoroughly studied, yes, but rarely seen — in the past 300 years, the enigmatic piece of linen has been on public display only 17 times.

Soon that will be 18. In the city of Turin (Torino to her residents) in Italy, the Shroud of Turin will be on display in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, April 10-May 23, 2010. I’ve made my plans to see it and found the arrangements to be pretty simple.

Visits are by reservation only and must be booked online at www.sindone.org. The website has an “English” link, and the booking instructions are straightforward and easy to follow. You’ll receive an e-mail notifying you of your booking. To confirm, you MUST reply to that e-mail.

Visitors will start at the north entrance to Turin’s Royal Gardens, in the city center. A covered, mile-long “introductory route” into the cathedral presents historical information and photographs. More information is available at the Museum of the Holy Shroud, a 10-minute walk from the exhibit.

The shroud is a piece of fine, ivory-colored linen about 14 feet long and 3½ feet wide. It is made of a three-to-one herringbone weave with a “Z” twist. The cloth bears the frontal and dorsal image of a bearded, naked man who shows clear evidence of having suffered savage beating and a Roman-style crucifixion.

Long the center of controversy, it has been described as the authentic winding sheet used to cover the body of Christ. It has also been called the most cynical piece of fraud in history.

For a hundred years, research was fragmented and haphazard until a team of American scientists arrived in Turin in 1978. Coordinated and comprehensive analysis proved the stains resembling human blood are exactly that. Also, the image is not paint, pigment or any other known staining agent.

They also found compelling physical evidence (specifically, microscopic proteins) indicating that the linen came from the Middle East during the first century AD. In 1988 three independent carbon-14 analyses dated the shroud to about 700 years old, but today most of the scientific community acknowledges the samples were contaminated and the results flawed.

Public exhibits of the shroud are known as ostensione in Italian. The term comes from the ostentatious displays put on by the Savoys (Italy’s royal family) during the 15th and 16th centuries. Modern displays are more subdued.

If history is an indicator, the number of people visiting Turin this year will be in the neighborhood of three million. The Vatican has confirmed a Papal visit on May 2.

For centuries, popes have gazed upon the shroud with awe, but the official position of the Church has not changed since 1390 when Pope Clement VII told the faithful it was a representation of Christ’s Passion but not necessarily specific evidence of it.

There are no direct flights from the US to Turin. Fly first to London, Frankfurt or Munich and take a connecting flight the rest of the way. Alternatively, fly to Milan and travel by train to Turin.

The Turin tourism office has agreements with many downtown hotels for reduced prices during the exhibit. Use the links from the tourism office website, www.turismotorino.org. I am lucky enough to have been to Turin many times and can verify that every hotel offered through that website is clean and safe.

JIM SAJO

Polcenigo, Italy