Holy Shroud Chapel (Cappella della Sacra Sindone)
Holy Shroud Chapel (Cappella della Sacra Sindone) features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Turin. Give it roughly ~45 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type religious
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Turin Turin guide
About Holy Shroud Chapel (Cappella della Sacra Sindone)
Guarino Guarini's extraordinary black marble Baroque chapel, built to house the Holy Shroud, the linen cloth believed by many to be Christ's burial wrapping.
The Cappella della Sacra Sindone is one of the most extraordinary Baroque interiors in Europe. Designed by the architect-priest Guarino Guarini and completed in 1694, the chapel was built expressly to house the Holy Shroud of Turin, the 4.37-metre linen cloth bearing the faint image of a crucified man that millions of Christians believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. The chapel is constructed from black and dark grey marble, creating a dramatic, otherworldly atmosphere. Its most astonishing feature is the dome: a series of nested stone arches of decreasing size that rise in a breathtaking spiral to a twelve-pointed star at the apex. The effect is vertiginous and celestial simultaneously. In 1997, a devastating fire caused serious structural damage, and the Shroud was rescued from the flames. Twenty years of meticulous restoration were required before the chapel reopened in 2018. The Shroud itself is kept in a climate-controlled silver casket and displayed only on rare occasions.
Did you know? The Shroud bears a negative photographic image, the detail of the face was only discovered when photographer Secondo Pia took the first photo of it in 1898 and saw the positive image on his negative plate.
How long is a visit to Holy Shroud Chapel (Cappella della Sacra Sindone)?
Set aside roughly ~45 min for Holy Shroud Chapel (Cappella della Sacra Sindone). That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Holy Shroud Chapel (Cappella della Sacra Sindone) worth your time?
Holy Shroud Chapel (Cappella della Sacra Sindone) is among the 22 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Turin, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Turin
Hear the story of Holy Shroud Chapel (Cappella della Sacra Sindone)
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