ALL ABOUT TURIN

In the February/March 2010 edition, you will find extensive coverage on the City of Turin, capital of Italy’s Piemonte region.

Two articles highlight the dynamism of the city: One on the Shroud of Turin and the other on the tragic plane crash in 1948 that took the lives of the city’s beloved soccer team, Torino Football Club.

The Shroud of Turin is our cover feature. The religious relic is on public display in Turin from April 10 to May 23.

Also of note in our feature of Italy’s public universities is the first polytechnic university of the western world, located in Turin, the Politecnico di Torino.

If this issue sparks your curiosity about Turin, then you will want to review the PRIMO November/December 2006 edition, where we featured the history of the city, the sights and culture there. That year the winter Olympics was held in Turin and so complete coverage of the city was due.

One Italian friend compared Turin to Philadelphia. He claimed Turin like Philadelphia is a dichotomous city, at one end industrial and blue collar, at another surreal, a spirit imbued by some there who dabble in the occult, writers and historians who celebrate medieval folk legends and of course the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, the church that hosts the great mystery that is the Shroud.

Whenever I mention Turin to Italians, they rave about the city. They all agree that Turin is the Paris of Italy, based on its northernmost location and historical connection to France; as the city was once ruled by the House of Savoy. Many Italians from the South and elsewhere in Italy have a relative or two living in Turin. The city remains a magnet for migration from the South as jobs proliferate there in the car factories of FIAT and other manufacturing companies.

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If you have the chance to travel to Italy next month, I urge you to try and see the Shroud of Turin, on public display at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist.

The shroud has been on public display five times during the last century: 1898, 1978, 1998, 2000, and 2010. It remains one of the most fascinating of Christian relics, still debated among scientists, scholars and theologians as to authenticity.

A web site with considerable information about the shroud is www.shroud.com, hosted by Barrie Schwortz, an expert on the shroud who provided extraordinary insight and commentary for our feature article. I thank Barrie for his time and expertise.

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UPDATE: OUR LADY OF LORETO
An article last year on Our Lady of Loreto, located in Brooklyn captured the attention of PRIMO readers. The church, built by Italian immigrants in the neighborhood over 100 years ago, is slated for demolition by the Brooklyn archdiocese.

As of writing this blog, plans have not changed. The archdiocese is set to tear down Our Lady of Loreto and build affordable housing in the church’s place.

If you want to lend your support and sign a petition to save Our Lady of Loreto, please log on to the web site www.saveourladyofloreto.org. www.saveourladyofloreto.org.