LIFE: The Shroud of Turin Returns

TURIN, Italy - The Shroud of Turin, arguably Italy’s most famous holy relic, will be on display from April 19 to June 24, 2015 at the Cathedral of Turin, in the northern Italian city of Turin.

 Turin, Italy

The Shroud was last on display in 2010 and more than 2 million people visited Turin during the 44 days it was on display. This time it is expected that the crowds will be even larger for this exceptional event as Pope Francis will make an appearance on June 21 to visit the Shroud and celebrate the birthday of San Giovanni Bosco.  

It goes without saying that reservations are necessary.  Even at this early stage organizers are advising the public that the reservation process might take a few minutes, so you need to be patient.  In the first few days the reservation site was open in 2010, almost 1 million requests had come in so it is easy to understand their concern. You’ll find on-line and phone reservation information at the end of this article.

 The Shroud of Turin

According to tradition, the Shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus, but even with the use of special carbon dating techniques, experts have been hard pressed to date it much before the 14th century. However, there is some evidence that on August 15, 944 DC an image bearing cloth known as the Cloth of Edessa, was taken from Edessa to Constantinople (now Istanbul).

It had been in Edessa since it was found sometime in the middle of the 6th century, hidden behind some stones above one of the city's gates. According to legend the cloth, with a miraculous picture of Jesus, was brought to the King of Edessa sometime between 13 –50 DC by a disciple known as Thaddeus Jude, who claimed to have been sent by the apostle Thomas.

 The Cathedral of Turin

But historians don’t seem to be able to agree on any of the dates and there are those who believe that the shroud was taken by Robert of Clari or other French knights of the Fourth Crusade during the sacking of Constantinople in 1204. There may be some truth in that as Robert of Clari mentions seeing the cloth at the Imperial Palace in 1203, even if the first actual records only trace it back to Lirey, France in 1354.

 

 Inside the Cathedral of Turin

The basis of this belief comes from a letter written in 1205 to Pope Innocent II which says in part, “The Venetians partitioned the treasure of gold, silver and ivory, while the French did the same with the relics of saints and the most sacred of all, the linen in which our Lord Jesus Christ was wrapped after His death and before the resurrection.”


If the Edessa Cloth is the Shroud of Turin, then written record of its existence goes back to the sixth century. But is it? The controversy continues. While no new tests are officially scheduled scientists at Oxford University, where the original tests were done, are taking another look at the data and methodology of the original tests to see if any mistakes were made and if the Shroud could actually date back to the time of Jesus. 

 Turin, A Beautiful City

Groups dedicated to researching the relic argue that the shroud has been handled so many times that it could easily have been contaminated. This could alter the chemical makeup of the carbon in the linen which in turn would affect the results of the carbon dating. To avoid additional contamination the Shroud is now kept in a covered, bulletproof, climate controlled case inside the Cathedral of Turin. 

If you are planning on going to Turin I can tell you from my own experiences when I went to see the Shroud several years ago, the city is well organized and even though there are a lot of people, lines move quickly and you never feel lost in a sea of humanity. It is a unique experience.

 A Sample of Turin's Exquisite Architecture

If you do have a chance to go and see the Shroud I strongly suggest staying a few extra days. Turin is one of the most historically interesting and architecturally beautiful cities in Italy, albeit not traditionally Italian. It was the city of Italy's royal family, the French Savoy, and they turned the city into a spectacular European capital. Vale la pena, as the Italians say – it’s worth it.

 

On-line Reservations to see the Shroud of Turin:  http://www.piemonteitalia.eu/prenotazione/welcome.do?codEvento=OSS2015

Your tickets will be sent to you via e-mail.

  

Phone Reservations: 

Call +39 011 529 5550. The call center will be open from Monday to Friday from 9AM to 7PM and Saturdays from 9AM to 2PM. That’s Italy time, so you’ll need to calculate the time difference between where you are and Turin.   

The official Shroud web site is: www.sindone.org

This is the information that I have as of today. As things change, as they often do here in Italy, I will update this information.

ON ANOTHER NOTE

This Italian Life now has a Facebook Page. You can get there by clicking the Facebook badge on the right hand side of the page or going to https://www.facebook.com/thisitalianlife.  I’m still working out the kinks and I know the badge is kind of crummy, but clicking on it will take you to daily updates of life in Italy. I hope you’ll check it out, leave a comment or two, and while you are there it would be nice if you gave the page a Like. Thanks.

AUNTIE PASTA: Turin's Culinary Gold

TURIN, Italy – With the sky still an early morning pink, crates of dark green artichokes, yellow pears and fragrant fennel are stacked wily nily, cluttering the streets as fruit and vegetable vendors at Turin’s great food market, Porta Palazzo set up their market stalls for the day. Nearby, brawny butchers in white coats and blood stained aprons, pull large beef hindquarters and pork carcasses from the back of rumbling refrigerated trucks and hang them on large hooks behind their counters in the immense glass and wrought iron market building.

Porto Palazzo Market

But even before the butchers start to sharpen their knives and price cards are stuck into the produce boxes, local chefs are on the prowl, menu ideas running through their minds. How many crates of Swiss chard do you have? Never mind, how about these beets, will you have more tomorrow? The day’s menu depends on what they choose. The only thing certain is that the food they’ll prepare is unlike any you have ever eaten in Italy.

Just ask Turin native Chef Roberto Donna of Washington, D.C.’s four-star Galileo restaurant (more about Chef Donna in the March 11, 2010 Auntie Pasta: Bruciolo) He knows first-hand how creative the chefs in his hometown can be. He’ll also tell you that with such incredibly voluptuous and seductive ingredients as white truffles, porcini mushrooms, Piedmont beef, fresh brook trout, and an abundance of game, no one is ever really surprised when first time visitors can barely keep from swooning at the dinner table.



The Vast Selection Boggles the Mind

In part it’s the luck of the location. Turin is in the extreme northwest corner of Italy, in the province of Piedmont. But while Piedmont, home of the Slow Food movement, has become a Mecca for food lovers, Turin seems to hover below the radar line. As gourmands track elusive white truffles in Alba and frolic through the vineyards of Montferrato, the tables of Turin are largely ignored.

Turinese cuisine is not like the food in any other part of Italy. For one, chefs tend to reach for butter and lard rather than olive oil. Olive oil has only been used in local cooking since the 1950’s, brought north by southerners who immigrated to Turin to work in the automobile industry. And more than in any other part of Italy, local dishes incorporate a variety of savory sauces.

Truffles Big and Small, Black and White

Another difference is that appetizers play a much larger role here than in other parts of Italy, both in the size of the portions and in their sheer creativity. In Chef Donna’s cookbook, ‘Cooking in Piedmont’, he presents twenty-six recipes for appetizers including such non-appetizer sounding dishes as rabbit salad, stuffed roasted peppers, veal tongue in a spicy red sauce, a duck liver flan and spicy polenta served with fried quail eggs.

Probably the best known Piedmontese appetizers are bagna cauda –literally a hot bath -of oil, garlic, anchovies and butter served as a dipping sauce for winter vegetables, and fonduta (from the French fondre, to melt) a fondue of creamy Fontina cheese flavored with white truffles. Truffles are used extensively in Turinese cooking, and when they are in season – between November and February – they are liberally showered over just about everything.

Ravioli del Plin

In a traditional Italian meal, appetizers are followed by a primo, usually pasta. Two of Turin’s most popular dishes are tajarin, golden egg noodles served with melted butter and a shaving of white truffles, and Chef Donna’s favorite, ravioli del plin, (del plin means to pinch in Turinese dialect) often served with a reduced veal stock and a veil of grated parmesan cheese. It is interesting that the Turinese prefer fresh egg pastas, rather than pastasciutta, dried pasta, that is so popular throughout the rest of Italy

The best rice in Italy, some say the world, grows in the wide flat lands between Milan and Turin so in addition to pasta you’ll find rich and creamy risotto, riso all piemontese, rice served with meat sauce, and riso e ceci, a rice and chick pea dish on menus. Other non-pasta choices are chestnut flour gnocchi served with a fonduta di Castelmagno (Castelmagno is a town southwest of Turin that is famous for its cheese), or baccalà (salted cod), served with saffron flavored polenta. And then, as the Italians say, Coraggio! – courage! It’s time to move on to the main course.

Bollito Misto

The city’s signature dish is bollito misto, a mix of boiled meats served with three sauces: bagnet verd, a parsley sauce spiced up with anchovy, garlic and olive oil; bagnet ross, crushed tomatoes, garlic and hot peppers, and saussa d’avije, a mustard sauce sweetened with honey and crushed nuts. In the past, traditionalists insisted that bollito misto contain seven vegetables, seven types of meat, and seven types of ornamenti, i.e. tongue, tail and dangly bits, but today the more exotic dangly bits are slowly being eased out. On the menu at least once a week in most Turin restaurants, the boiled meat dish is served from a rolling stainless steel cart, each meat kept warm in its own broth filled compartment, and you can ask for the meats that you want.

Other classics include brasato al Barolo, Piedmont beef slowly braised in Barolo wine, and finanziera, a stew of cock’s crests, chicken livers, veal, peas and porcini mushrooms. In the fall and winter, you’ll find venison, roe deer (a small European deer), quail and even tagliata di renna, slices of reindeer meat, on some menu, along with beef and veal, free range poultry and freshly caught fish instead of fish farm fish.

Elegant Dining in Turin

In a country where no culinary rock has been left unturned, it’s nice to know that there is still a small corner where you can find new taste experiences. The food in Turin may just change the way you look at Italian food forever.

In next week’s Auntie Pasta post you’ll find a preview of what’s on the menu at some of Turin’s restaurants, and some insider tips by Chef Donna as to the best Turinese dishes to try.

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LIFE: Shroud of Turin

TURIN, Italy - The Shroud of Turin, arguably Italy’s most famous holy relic, will be on display from April 13 to May 23 at the Cathedral of Turin, in northern Italy. This will be the first public showing of the Shroud of Turin since it was restored in 2002.

As many as 2 million people are expected to view the Shroud over the 44 days it will be available. So far, almost 1 million requests have come in to reserve the three to five minutes each person will be allowed to admire the cloth that has fascinated pilgrims and scientists alike for centuries. 

According to tradition, the Shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus, but even with the use of special carbon dating techniques, experts have been hard pressed to date it much before the 14th century. Even though French crusader Robert of Clari mentions seeing the cloth in 1203 in Constantinople at the imperial palace, the first actual records trace it only to Lirey in France in 1354. 

There are historians who believe that the shroud was taken by French knights of the Fourth Crusade during the sacking of Constantinople in 1204. The basis of this belief comes from a letter written in 1205 to Pope Innocent II which says in part, “The Venetians partitioned the treasure of gold, silver and ivory, while the French did the same with the relics of saints and the most sacred of all, the linen in which our Lord Jesus Christ was wrapped after His death and before the resurrection.” 

There is also some evidence that on August 15, 944 CE an image bearing cloth known as the Cloth of Edessa, was taken from Edessa to Constantinople (now Istanbul). It had been in Edessa since it was found hidden behind some stones above one of the city gates sometime in the middle of the 6th century. According to legend, the cloth, with a miraculous picture of Jesus, was brought to the King of Edessa sometime between 13 –50 CE by a disciple known as Thaddeus Jude, who claimed to have been sent by the apostle Thomas. 

If the Edessa Cloth is the Shroud of Turin, then written record of its existence goes back to the sixth century. But is it? The controversy continues. And while no new tests are officially scheduled, scientists at Oxford University, where the original tests were done, are taking another look at the data and methodology of the original tests to see if any mistakes were made and if the Shroud could actually date back to the time of Jesus. 

Groups dedicated to researching the relic argue that the shroud has been handled so many times that it could easily have been contaminated, altering the chemical makeup of the carbon in the linen which in turn would affect the results of the carbon dating. To avoid further contamination the Shroud is now kept in a covered, bulletproof, climate controlled case inside the Cathedral of Turin. 

If you are planning on going to Turin I can tell you from my own experiences to see the Shroud in 1998, the city is well organized and even though there are a lot of people, lines move quickly and you never feel lost in a sea of humanity. And if you do have a chance to go I strongly suggest staying a few extra days. Turin is one of the most historically interesting and architectually beautiful cities in Italy, albeit not traditionally Italian. It was the city of Italy's royal family, the French Savoy, and they turned the city into a spectacular European capital. Vale la pena, as they say. You won't be sorry you stayed. 

Reservations to see the Shroud of Turin can be made on the Internet (www.sindone.org) During the Exposition period there will also be a booking service for same day visits at the reception point that will be set up in Piazza Castello, near the Cathedral.

More Information is available on the following sites: www.comune.torino.it
www.provincia.torino.it
www.regione.piemonte.it
www.turismotorino.org
www.comune.torino.it/torinoplus/

Photos: (1) Pilgrims viewing the Shroud of Turin 1998, (2) Cathedral of Turin, (3) Interior Cathedral of Turin

For more on Turin see Auntie Pasta: Italy's Dark (Chocolate) Secret published Feb. 10, 2010.