Architecture for the Shroud: Relic and Ritual in Turin PDF Book Download *FREE

The famed linen cloth preserved in Turin Cathedral has provoked pious devotion, scientific scrutiny, and morbid curiosity. Imprinted with an image many faithful have traditionally believed to be that of the crucified Christ “painted in his own blood,” the Shroud remains an object of intense debate and notoriety yet today.

In this amply illustrated volume, John Beldon Scott traces the history of the unique relic, focusing especially on the black-marble and gilt-bronze structure Guarino Guarini designed to house and exhibit it. A key Baroque monument, the chapel comprises many unusual architectural features, which Scott identifies and explains, particulary how the chapel’s unprecedented geometry and bizarre imagery convey to the viewer the supernatural powers of the object enshrined there. Drawing on early plans and documents, he demonstrates how the architect’s design mirrors the Shroud’s strange history as well as political aspirations of its owners, the Dukes of Savoy. Exhibiting it ritually, the Savoy prized their relic with its godly vestige as a means to link their dynasty with divine purposes. Guarini, too, promoted this end by fashioning an illusionary world and sacred space that positioned the duke visually so that he appeared close to the Shroud during its ceremonial display. Finally, Scott describes how the additional need for an outdoor stage for the public showing of the relic to the thousands who came to Turin to see it also helped shape the urban plan of the city and its transformation into the Savoyard capital.

Exploring the mystique of this enigmatic relic and investigating its architectural and urban history for the first time, Architecture for the Shroud will appeal to anyone curious about the textile, its display, and the architectural settings designed to enhance its veneration and boost the political agenda of the ruling family.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 405-428) and index.

John Beldon Scott is a professor of art history at the University of Iowa. He is the author of Images of Nepotism: The Painted Ceilings of Palazzo Barberini.

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Introduction: Architecture and Relic

PART I: PEREGRINATIONS

1. RELIC AND KINGSHIP

2. SHROUD OF CHAMBandEacute;RY: SAINTE-CHAPELLE

3. A NEW CAPITAL AND ITS RELIC

PART II: “TERROR OF ARCHITECTURE”: GUARINO GUARINI AND THE CHAPEL OF THE HOLY SHROUD

4. SEEING THE SHROUD: GUARINI’S SACRED THEATER

5. FAITH IN GEOMETRY

6. IMAGERY OF DEVOTION AND DYNASTY

7. ILLUSION OF MEANING/MEANING OF ILLUSION

PART III: RELIC AND MONARCHY IN THE URBAN SETTING

8. CULTIC URBANISM: RITUAL IN THE PUBLIC THEATER OF OSTENSION

9. DYNASTIC PANTHEON: REVOLUTION AND RISORGIMENTO

10. SHROUD AND ARCHITECTURE IN THE ITALIAN STATE

EPILOGUE

APPENDIXES

Appendix A: Abbreviated Family Tree of the Savoy Family

Appendix B: Abbreviated Family Tree of the Lusignans of Cyprus

Appendix C: Description of the Shroud Chapel (1682)

Appendix D: Chronological Bibliography of Interpretations of Guarini’s Shroud Chapel (1956-2000)

Appendix E: Documenting Frequency of Public Ostensions

Appendix F: Ceremonial Diary: Description of the Ostension of 28 May 1684

Appendix G: Ceremonial Diary: Description of the Ostension of 15 October 1775

Notes

Bibliography

Index