Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Torino & the Holy Shroud
During the 2006 Winter Olympics, there was much debate over whether the name of the city was Torino or Turin. And the answer: both. Torino is the Italian name, and Turin is the English version (much like München vs Munich and Koln vs Cologne here in Germany). Regardless of which variation of the name you prefer, the city is beautiful with some wonderful sights!
Turin has more than 18 kilometers of archways throughout the city. That’s second only to Bologna, in central Italy (which has more than 37 kilometers!). When we arrived in Turin, we had to go under one of these arches to enter the Palazzo Madama square. As is typical with most group tours, we traveled to Turin on a large bus. However, these arches were rather narrow, as is evident in this first photo. The bus had only a few inches of clearance outside my window as we traveled underneath! I was surprised when we narrowly made it through without the aid of the “knight bus” from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (the bus that can become extremely narrow to fit through the tightest of spots).
After successfully making it to the square, we began with a walking tour of the city. One of the first stops was to the 17th century Royal Palace of Turin, which was once the royal palace of the House of Savoy. The top of the dome of the Chapel of the Holy Shroud is visible behind the palace on the left.
From there, we went inside the Royal Church of San Lorenzo. The church itself was stunning with a beautiful altar and pipe organ, and more than 400 angels throughout. Even the simple cupola (below) was mesmerizing with its repeating geometric designs representative of the human face (and the face of God, since we were created in his image). If you look closely, you can see eight faces with oval-shaped eyes and mouths, and pentagon-shaped noses looking down from above.
From the main sanctuary, we went to a side room to see the copy of the Holy Shroud -- the sheet that is thought to have been wrapped around the body of Christ. The Holy Shroud is only brought out for display every 25 years or on special occasions (in the Chapel of the Holy Shroud). Our visit to Turin didn’t qualify as such, so we opted to see the copy, which is on display here since the original was kept in this chapel for more than 100 years beginning in 1578. The original belonged to Turin’s Savoy family from 1453 to 1946, and now belongs to the Holy See (the Pope) while remaining in Turin.
The shroud is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have been physically traumatized in a manner consistent with crucifixion: a nail wound to the left wrist, a wound in the right side, small wounds around the head consistent with a crown of thorns, among other wounds. Because of these wounds, many believers agree it’s the cloth that covered Jesus when he was placed in his tomb and that his image was recorded on its fibers at or near the time of his proclaimed resurrection. Of course, skeptics contend the shroud is a medieval hoax or forgery.
The copy of the complete shroud is above, with the left showing the front of the body, and the right showing the back. What I found interesting was that in 1898, an amateur Italian photographer took the first photograph of the shroud and was startled by the negative in his darkroom. The negative gave the appearance of a positive image, which implies that the shroud image is itself effectively a natural negative of some kind. Surprisingly, the image on the negative was clearer than the positive image. These photos are of negatives of the shroud (effectively “positive images”) showing the front of the body (right) and a close-up of the face (below).
After our visit to the Royal Church of San Lorenzo, we walked through several of Turin’s wide streets in the shopping district. At right is a building in the Piazza San Carlo. Notice there are even more arches!
I really like the architecture of the 17th century baroque Palazzo Carignano and its elliptical center façade. Its architect, Camillo-Guarino Guarini, designed several of the major buildings in Turin. Another unique aspect of this building are the stylized masks with American-Indian feather headdresses. The decorations recall the campaign of the Carignano family with the French against the Iroquois in 1667.
The back side of the palace (below) has two different colors of bricks, with the color on the right indicative of newer construction when parliament needed more space. The building behind the palace (which was also pretty grandiose) was once used as a stable.
From there we went to the New Roman Cinema, which made me feel like we had stepped back in time. It was built in 1870 as a gallery, and today houses upscale shops and a classy-looking restaurant.
Afterward, we were on our own for lunch and exploring the city further. Turin is known for delicious wines, both red and white, that perfectly match traditional dishes, so I couldn’t pass up having a glass with lunch. What a nice experience, sitting outside at a covered sidewalk restaurant, savoring delicious Italian pasta and sipping wonderful wine!
After lunch, I stayed with two other ladies, and we found our way to ruins of a 1st century Roman amphitheater that was unearthed in 1899. Part of the amphitheater is in the open, while other parts of it are still somewhat underground -- near the entrance to an exhibit on Afghanistan.
Not too far away from the amphitheater is the Archaeological Park with the Palatine Towers. The towers flank a central gate, which was once one of the city’s four Roman gates. The two bronze statues of Augustus and Julius Caesar (copies of older statues) were positioned in front of the monument during the Fascist era under Benito Mussolini.
When we headed back to the Palazzo Reale area, we passed this statue in the Herb Square. I couldn’t figure out much about it other than it was donated to the city of Turin by King Carl Alberto in 1853.
We also passed the San Domenico Church. It’s relatively plain-looking, but its history seemed interesting. It was originally built in the early 1300s, but was rebuilt several times, including restoration in the early 20th century that revealed its original architecture. The convent beside the church on the left was the seat of the Inquisition where women who were accused of witchcraft, imprisoned in the nearby Senate prisons, were tried.
Once again, I bought a few jars of pasta sauce to bring back home. I was also told that the city’s special chocolates, gianduiotti, are delicious, but our tour guide told us we were not there in the “good season” for chocolate since it was too hot in July and August. I didn’t know chocolates were ever “out” of season.
Turin has more than 18 kilometers of archways throughout the city. That’s second only to Bologna, in central Italy (which has more than 37 kilometers!). When we arrived in Turin, we had to go under one of these arches to enter the Palazzo Madama square. As is typical with most group tours, we traveled to Turin on a large bus. However, these arches were rather narrow, as is evident in this first photo. The bus had only a few inches of clearance outside my window as we traveled underneath! I was surprised when we narrowly made it through without the aid of the “knight bus” from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (the bus that can become extremely narrow to fit through the tightest of spots).
After successfully making it to the square, we began with a walking tour of the city. One of the first stops was to the 17th century Royal Palace of Turin, which was once the royal palace of the House of Savoy. The top of the dome of the Chapel of the Holy Shroud is visible behind the palace on the left.
From there, we went inside the Royal Church of San Lorenzo. The church itself was stunning with a beautiful altar and pipe organ, and more than 400 angels throughout. Even the simple cupola (below) was mesmerizing with its repeating geometric designs representative of the human face (and the face of God, since we were created in his image). If you look closely, you can see eight faces with oval-shaped eyes and mouths, and pentagon-shaped noses looking down from above.
From the main sanctuary, we went to a side room to see the copy of the Holy Shroud -- the sheet that is thought to have been wrapped around the body of Christ. The Holy Shroud is only brought out for display every 25 years or on special occasions (in the Chapel of the Holy Shroud). Our visit to Turin didn’t qualify as such, so we opted to see the copy, which is on display here since the original was kept in this chapel for more than 100 years beginning in 1578. The original belonged to Turin’s Savoy family from 1453 to 1946, and now belongs to the Holy See (the Pope) while remaining in Turin.
The shroud is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have been physically traumatized in a manner consistent with crucifixion: a nail wound to the left wrist, a wound in the right side, small wounds around the head consistent with a crown of thorns, among other wounds. Because of these wounds, many believers agree it’s the cloth that covered Jesus when he was placed in his tomb and that his image was recorded on its fibers at or near the time of his proclaimed resurrection. Of course, skeptics contend the shroud is a medieval hoax or forgery.
The copy of the complete shroud is above, with the left showing the front of the body, and the right showing the back. What I found interesting was that in 1898, an amateur Italian photographer took the first photograph of the shroud and was startled by the negative in his darkroom. The negative gave the appearance of a positive image, which implies that the shroud image is itself effectively a natural negative of some kind. Surprisingly, the image on the negative was clearer than the positive image. These photos are of negatives of the shroud (effectively “positive images”) showing the front of the body (right) and a close-up of the face (below).
After our visit to the Royal Church of San Lorenzo, we walked through several of Turin’s wide streets in the shopping district. At right is a building in the Piazza San Carlo. Notice there are even more arches!
I really like the architecture of the 17th century baroque Palazzo Carignano and its elliptical center façade. Its architect, Camillo-Guarino Guarini, designed several of the major buildings in Turin. Another unique aspect of this building are the stylized masks with American-Indian feather headdresses. The decorations recall the campaign of the Carignano family with the French against the Iroquois in 1667.
The back side of the palace (below) has two different colors of bricks, with the color on the right indicative of newer construction when parliament needed more space. The building behind the palace (which was also pretty grandiose) was once used as a stable.
From there we went to the New Roman Cinema, which made me feel like we had stepped back in time. It was built in 1870 as a gallery, and today houses upscale shops and a classy-looking restaurant.Afterward, we were on our own for lunch and exploring the city further. Turin is known for delicious wines, both red and white, that perfectly match traditional dishes, so I couldn’t pass up having a glass with lunch. What a nice experience, sitting outside at a covered sidewalk restaurant, savoring delicious Italian pasta and sipping wonderful wine!
After lunch, I stayed with two other ladies, and we found our way to ruins of a 1st century Roman amphitheater that was unearthed in 1899. Part of the amphitheater is in the open, while other parts of it are still somewhat underground -- near the entrance to an exhibit on Afghanistan.
Not too far away from the amphitheater is the Archaeological Park with the Palatine Towers. The towers flank a central gate, which was once one of the city’s four Roman gates. The two bronze statues of Augustus and Julius Caesar (copies of older statues) were positioned in front of the monument during the Fascist era under Benito Mussolini.
When we headed back to the Palazzo Reale area, we passed this statue in the Herb Square. I couldn’t figure out much about it other than it was donated to the city of Turin by King Carl Alberto in 1853.
We also passed the San Domenico Church. It’s relatively plain-looking, but its history seemed interesting. It was originally built in the early 1300s, but was rebuilt several times, including restoration in the early 20th century that revealed its original architecture. The convent beside the church on the left was the seat of the Inquisition where women who were accused of witchcraft, imprisoned in the nearby Senate prisons, were tried.Once again, I bought a few jars of pasta sauce to bring back home. I was also told that the city’s special chocolates, gianduiotti, are delicious, but our tour guide told us we were not there in the “good season” for chocolate since it was too hot in July and August. I didn’t know chocolates were ever “out” of season.
