The mysteries of the Shroud fascinate everyone, but the boys first of all. This is the reason of the success of the training programs that for 15 years the International Center of Sindonology have been offering to schools throughout Italy. Since 2002 more than 1,500 schools have joined the project for a total of more 30,000 students.
“The Shroud: studies and research to try to understand the mystery” is the title of this project proposed by the ICS in the frame of the program “For a Humane Man” by the Diocesan Office for School in Turin. Professor Bruno Barberis, coordinator of the Scientific activities of ICS, is in charge of it.
The aim of the course is to allow students to be acquainted with the Shroud, famous throughout the world as the symbol of Turin and Piedmont. The Shroud is studied in its various aspects – historical, scientific, iconographic, biblical, cultural – thanks to individual work or through group works.
Five themes are the subjects of the course, each articulated into chapters of analysis.1. The Shroud (2 hours):1.1. Description of the figure1.2. Photograph of the Shroud1.3. Medical-legal studies1.4. Recent restoration work and new methods of preservation 2. The Shroud and the Bible (1 hour):2.1. The passion and the burial of Christ in the Gospels and in the Shroud 3. The Shroud in the history (1 hour):3.1. Hypothesis about the first millennium3.2. The Shroud in Europe3.3. The Piedmont and the Shroud 4. The Shroud and the science (1 hour):4.1. Physical-chemical researches4.2. Biological researches4.3. Computer researches 4.4. The dating of the tissue 5. The Shroud and the history of art (1 hour):5.1. Christ’s depictions5.2. The iconography of the Shroud5.3. The iconography of the Shroud in Piedmont.
The first theme – dedicated to the description of the Shroud is the only necessary one. The other themes can be chosen or not by the classes themselves. All the meetings take place in the different schools. The timetables can be planned with the teachers. Educational tools, such as books, photographs, slides, video tapes and cd-roms, are also provided.In order to broaden the perspectives it is also possible to arrange historical workshops, for example on the Crusades, or on the importance of the Shroud for the Savoy Family and in its countries. In the field of art it is possible to examine the pictorial representations of Christ’s face and of his crucifixion, or the religious and worship iconography. On the scientific point of view it is possible to go deep inside the modern techniques of analysis and preservation of ancient finds, or to study the methods of radio-dating the biological samples, or the digital image processing techniques.At the end of each course it is recommended a guided tour in the Museum of the Shroud of Turin.
For information, please get in touch with the International Center of Sindonology (tel: 0114365832; fax: 0114319275; e-mail: cis.scuole@sindone.it).