Face of Genoa

Many Images of Edessa?

The fact of the matter is that there is more than one image claiming to be the Image of Edessa, even claiming to be the image of the Abgar legend. And this causes no end of confusion. One is The Holy Face of Genoa, kept in the Church of St. Bartholomew of the Armenians in Genoa. Another is the Mandylion of Edessa, once kept in the Church of Saint Silvestro in Rome and now kept in the Matilda chapel in the Vatican.

These two images look remarkably alike. And they do have some similarities to the facial image on the shroud; at least the long thin nose and the long hair. But the eyes are not owlish and the beard is apparently not forked. I say apparently because outline frames may be obscuring part of the beard. Unlike the shroud, these images are not negative images, are not monochromatic and appear to have been painted. There is a sense of photorealism to them and yet they seem primitive as well. Whether or not they are what the claim to be, authentic acheiropoieta is beyond our scope here.

Curcuas Captures the Image of Edessa

Curcuas, when he arrived at Edessa, offered to spare the city if it surrendered the Image of Edessa. But he was rebuffed because the significant Christian population of the city balked at giving up their priceless relic. Leaving a siege force behind, Curcuas continued raids throughout the region collecting more loot and prisoners. Finally, the Caliph of besieged Edessa agreed to surrender the cloth after Curcuas agreed to a payment of silver, the freeing of hundreds of Muslim prisoners and a promise of perpetual immunity from further attack. Various outdated histories give different accounts of what the Image of Edessa was. It was the Veronica, some said. It was the Holy Mandylion that is now in a  church in Genoa. But there can be little doubt, as we will see, that it was a full length burial cloth. (23)

Secondo Pia

Secondo Pia was born in 1855, in the Piedmont area of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Piedmont, as the area is generally known today, is in the most northwestern corner of what is now Italy but was then a collection of minor states, city states, and pieces of kingdoms. Mountainous Piedmont is in the northwest corner of Italy above the boot, bordered by France in the west, by Switzerland to the north, and the Lombard region of Italy in the East.

In 1353, at just about the exact time that the Holy Shroud, now more commonly known as the Shroud of Turin, was being first exhibited in Lirey, Peter IV of Aragon on the Iberian Peninsula laid claim to Sardinia and Corsica. It was now a kingdom within a kingdom.

In 1479, at just about the time that the House of Savoy acquired the Holy Shroud Sardinia became part of the new Kingdom of Spain created by the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabel of Castile. Ferdinand and Isabel are of course far better known for financing Christopher Columbus of Genoa.

It wasn’t until 1720 that Spain lost Sardinia in a war with the British, Austrians, French and Dutch. It went to Austria. But, in what can best be described as a side deal, the Duke of Savoy traded away Sicily for Sardinia. It was a fortuitous move because Spain was able to capture Sicily and Naples as well in 1734. Following the biggest assemblage ever of representatives from the empires, kingdoms, princedoms, the Treaty of Vienna in 1835, the king of Spain was formally named the king of Sicily and Naples, as well.

And the fighting continued throughout the continent.