La Sindone di Arquata del Tronto

In a document on parchment dated 1 May 1655 is reported that the Roman Church wanted to preserve the sacred image of Jesus Christ impressed on the Holy Shroud nowadays situated in Turin.  That is why, on request of the bishop Giovanni Paolo Bucciarelli (born in Borgo di Arquata) a linen sheet (shroud), was set upon the original Holy Shroud. Using an ancient medieval technique (probably warming up very softly both shrouds), the same image of the original was impressed on the new sheet, which has been preserved for centuries in S. Francesco’s Church in Borgo di Arquata. The copy had been made because also the Roman Church wanted a copy of the Holy Shroud. In fact the original one was a property of the Savoia family. The Holy Shroud of Arquata del Tronto cannot be considered just a mere “copy”but a real “extract from the original”, as reported on it (“Extractum ab originali”), so it has to be considered an authenticpreservation of the blood of Jesus Christ.