IN CAMMINO. La porta di Torino: itinerari sindonici sulla Via Francigena

Palazzo Madama – Museum of Ancient Art and the Carlo Acutis Foundation, in collaboration with Regione Piemonte, present, from July 13th to October 10th, 2023, as part of the project “Via Francigena for all,” the exhibition IN CAMMINO. La porta di Torino: itinerari sindonici sulla Via Francigena (ON THE WAY. The Gate of Turin: Shroud itineraries on the Via Francigena.) The exhibition is designed to be fully accessible and inclusive.

The exhibition shows historical and contemporary highlights of Turin and the Piedmont region, home of the Holy Shroud and main gateway to the Peninsula along the Via Francigena pilgrimage route.

Details

With a reflection on the pilgrim – he who moves for material and spiritual salvation – and of the journey through the region of the Saints of Charity – from Saint Giovanni Bosco, Saint Giuseppe Cafasso, Saint Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo to blessed Piergiorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis – the exhibition offers a series of encounters with the soul of the region through a visual exploration dedicated to its founding themes. It highlights, in particular, the traces of devotion to the Shroud along paths that intersect with the routes of the Via Francigena, external signs of pilgrimages that make Turin a beacon for the whole world.

The Exhibition

The exhibition develops the themes of pilgrimamge, the Via Francigena, and the Shroud-related itineraries with the support of:

Sixteen young Italian illustrators, both men and women, internationally renowned: Massimiliano Aurelio, Giacomo Alvise Bettiol, Roberto ‘Hikimi’ Blefari, Davide Bonazzi, Andrea De Luca, Massimiliano Di Lauro, Giovanna Giuliano, Riccardo Guasco, Gabriele Pino, Sergio Ponchione, Jacopo ‘Jeugov’ Riva, Jacopo Rosati, Elisa Seitzinger, Elisa Talentino, Ilaria Urbinati, Cinzia Zenocchini.
videos specially created to illustrate the Via Francigena and the Shroud routes, allowing visitors to have an immersive experience.
Images from a research conducted by Sisto Giriodi on the traces left by centuries of pilgrimages to the Holy Shroud, which is conserved in Turin since 1578.
The Piedmontese artist Carlo Gloria.

Multimedia installations: ARCHILANDstudio by Paolo Maldotti.

Organizational coordination: Eventum.

The Shroud routes

The gateway to Piedmont, to Turin, opens up to a rich cultural heritage, natural beauty, and gastronomic specialties. In Turin, there is a precious asset that can be considered a beacon for those embarking on a religious journey: the Shroud.

Along the routes that connect France with Piedmont, where the Shroud has traveled over the centuries, sometimes secretly, and at times, it is said, deceptively to mislead ill-intentioned individuals, it has inspired artists. There are more than 600 iconographic testimonies that the International Iconographic Center for Shroud Studies is currently cataloging.

Among these, approximately 100 are “mural shrouds” in Piedmont, painted on the exterior walls of various buildings, including houses, palaces, and castles. But also mountain huts and farmhouses – they constitute an entirely Piedmontese chapter in the history of the Shroud and its public displays. It is little known even by many Piedmontese people, despite being a unique case of popular devotion and an art cycle spanning three centuries. (Sisto Giriodi, Le altre Sindoni)

They are Simple works, as often most important things are. Cataloged by Sisto Giriodi and displayed in the exhibition.