In order to meet the rising requests from the pilgrims to visit the Holy Shroud, the 2010 Holy Shroud Exhibition Commette decided to extend the opening hours of the Cathedral of Turin (Duomo).
 

The Cathedreal will be open until 10.15 pm., on Fridays and every day of the last opening week (from Tuesdays 18th to Saturday 22nd May)
 

“The Commette decided to facilitate the pilgrims access by extending the visiting hours,” declared the Committee’s director Maurizio Baradello. “In this way more people will be able to see the Shroud during the weekends. For the ones who have not yet managed to book the visit, we suggest to try again”. So far, the number of visits booked is 1.184.000, out of which 1.107.000 are from Italy and 77.000 from abroad.
 

The announcement was given on March 5th on the occasion of the Press Conference held at Seminario Metropolitano. During the conference the tour for the pilgrims was introduced to the journalists. “The route the pilgrims will cover to reach the Cathedral goes through some of the historic places of Turin such as the Royal Gardens and the Manica Nuova of the Royal Palace” commented Ugo Perone, Culture Councillor for the Province of Torino.

 

The tour, organized with the support of the Fondazione Crt and Compagnia di San Paolo, will start from the lower Royal Gardens . The access will be at the corner of viale 1° Maggio and corso Regina Margherita (Rondò Rvella); the pilgrims will go through the park behind the Museo di Antichità, walking along the Bastions which divide the Royal High Gardens from the Low Gardens. The pilgrims will enter the «infernotti» of the Manica Nuova of the Royal Palace, proceed into the Roman Theatre area, reach the square of the Cathedral (where the «prelecture» papillon will be set up and images and information about the Shroud will be provided) and enter the Cathedral through the tower’s gate. Inside the Cathedral the route will continue on three different levels in order to offer the highest number of people a good Shroud’s lookout .

 

The entire visit will last about 1 hour. The pilgrims are allowed to stop in front of the Holy Shroud from 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the number of visitors. The visitors can enter the tour by showing their reservation tickets at the entrance.

 

Out of the Duomo, the pilgrims will be able to reach the Penitenzieria Chapel, inside the Palazzo Chiablese and dedicate some time to their prayers. “The renovation of the Penitenzieria’s spaces, obtained from the old site of the Museo del Cinema, is one of the permanent projects which will be left to the city of Torino,” declared Fiorenzo Alfieri, president of the Holy Shroud Exhibition Commette. The bookshop and the “welcome point” will be located in Piazza Castello, nearby the Palazzo della Regione, at the corner with Via Palazzo di Città. The people who will get to Torino with no reservation can apply for an immediate booking at the Welcome Point (subject to availability of places).