The Holy Shroud of Turin

On reaching Turin, the first place we headed to was the chapel of the Holy Shroud, Turin’s Duomo. Duomo Di San Giovanni was built between 1491 and 1498 on the site of three 14th century basilicas. The tower in the left is the bell tower designed by Juvarra and built in 1723. Admission was free and photography permitted without flash and tripods. The dim lighting in the interiors made the job of taking photographs difficult. The interior is extremely beautiful with huge paintings and statues.


I was awed by the sight of the photocopy of Holy Shroud. The feeling is unexplainable. The Shroud of Turin (or Turin Shroud) is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. If this shroud is real then it is AMAZING and even if it is not true just imagine the knowledge and technique that must have gone into creating something like this, centuries back. The shroud has been a mystery ever since it was discovered.



This photocopy is on permanent display in front of the cathedral’s altar. The crowd around this was enormous, no way could I reach it, I took shots from a distance with my zoom lens and unfortunately there were shakes in most of my shots.

The forensic survey of the Shroud image shows that the man who was wrapped in it had been hit hours before the death. Various bruises are on the face with swelling more on the right side of it than on the left one.

Moreover, it shows marks of bruised wounds especially near the eyebrows. The nose is diverted due to a fracture above the eyebrow area and left and right cheek bones, a disfigurement of the right eye, seepage of blood from the mouth which appears somewhat distorted compared with the line of the eyebrows. The characteristic upside down y-shaped imprint on the forehead reveals a brow knitted in agony. Many seepages of blood from bruises caused by a small diameter point are in forehead, neck and hair. These bruises are radiating around the head to its top and seem to be caused by the imposition of a helmet of thorns. It is important to notice the seepage of blood at the centre of the forehead from a wound of the frontal vein, in the shape of a reversed '3', because it follows frontal wrinkles. The horizontal dark lines defining the face and the back are caused by some folds of the tissue.

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