The Rome Experience: Day 8

This post continues the chronicles of Steve Bridge’s class trip to Rome.

We started off our second week in Rome with a day trip to Turin, Italy on the high-speed train. The purpose of our trip was to see the infamous “Shroud of Turin” on display. The exposition began on April 19 and will end on June 24. During that period of time, the Shroud will attract over a million visitors on pilgrimage to witness “the greatest testimony of the greatest love.” The Shroud of Turin is reportedly the burial cloth of Jesus, and it is the single most-studied artifact of human history. It has undergone hundreds of thousands of hours in modern scientific tests to prove its legitimacy. However, the question remains as to whether it is actually Jesus’s sepulcher linen or just an elaborate medieval forgery. We made the journey today to see it for ourselves.

Our pilgrimage began at the (not so) bright and early hour of 4:00 a.m. We woke up just in time to wish our friends and family back home sweet dreams before hiking to the train station where most of us had our first experience with Italian bullet trains. The train whizzes through the countryside in a blur of bright greens and browns. You can see yourself flying by highway traffic. We hit up to 302 km/hr (=187 mph)!

DSC_4184

When we arrived in Turin we had some time to kill so we visited the “Museo Egizio.” In the museum we explored Egyptian history in the form of ancient paintings, pottery, glittering sarcophagi, and even mummies!

IMG_4018

My favorite exhibit was in Scala 9 dedicated to the ancient writings of the Egyptians. On ancient papyrus were written love poems, satire, legal records, and receipts from regular business transactions. The museum also featured a “gallery of kings,” an enormous shaded room of black mirrors and framed on all sides by larger-than-life statues of ancient Egyptian pharaohs and sphinxes.

IMG_4031

We also saw two mummies and the famous “Coffin of Kha.” The Coffin of Kha is the gem of the museum’s collection. It features the painted gold and black outer layer and intricately painted inner layer with hieroglyphics and ancient imagery in honor of the Sun-god.

IMG_4025IMG_4026

After finishing up at the museum we made our way to see the Shroud of Turin. We watched a brief video in 8 different languages chronicling the evidence supporting the legitimacy of the Shroud, such as nail marks in the correct places, the facial imprint, thorn wounds, an injury to the rib cage, scourge marks, and indications of blunt trauma to the face. We were then ushered in to view the Shroud in quiet for a few fleeting moments. While we stood in awe beneath the Shroud we listened to a prayer in Italian proclaiming, “in front of the Shroud, as in a mirror, we admire the mystery of your passion and death for us.” For many, the Shroud of Turin is a physical manifestation that supports a great faith. While the mystery remains unsolved, it lives on in the convictions of those who witness this “icon of the passion” and recall Christ’s ultimate act of sacrifice.

ShroudPic2

After seeing the Shroud, we walked around Turin a bit. We stopped in a few stores, including a genuine Italian shoe store!

IMG_4037

Aprille and I bought our first pairs of Italian shoes, and topped that off with some delicious Turin gelato! We eventually caught the bullet train back to Rome and arrived back at our apartment around 11 p.m. We are definitely looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow before embarking on our next adventure.

Submitted by Lauren Sharples

, , ,