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An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in
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An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town Hardback - 2009

by David Farley

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A tour through the centuries and through a bizarre Italian town insearch of an unbelievable relic: the foreskin of Jesus ChristIn December 1983, a priest in the Italian hill town of Calcatashared shocking news with his congregation: The pride oftheir town, the foreskin of Jesus, had been stolen. Somepostulated that it had been stolen by Satanists. Some saidthe priest himself was to blame. Some even pointed theirfingers at the Vatican. In 2006, travel writer David Farleymoved to Calcata, determined to find the missing foreskin,or at least find out the truth behind its disappearance.Farley recounts how the relic passed from Charlemagne tothe papacy to a marauding sixteenth-century German soliderbefore finally ending up in Calcata, where miracles occurredthat made the sleepy town a major pilgrimage destination.Over the centuries, as Catholic theology evolved, therelic came to be viewed as something of an embarrassment,culminating in a 1900 Church decree that allowed the parishto display it only on New Year's Day.An Irreverent Curiosity interweaves this history with thecurious landscape of Calcata, a beautiful and untouchedmedieval village set atop four-hundred-fifty-foot cliffs,which now, due to the inscrutable machinations of Italianbureaucracy, is a veritable counterculture coven. Blendinghistory, travel, and perhaps the oddest story in Christianlore, An Irreverent Curiosity is a weird and wonderful tale ofconspiracy and misadventure.

Summary

A tour through the centuries and through a bizarre Italian town in search of an unbelievable relic: the foreskin of Jesus ChristIn December 1983, a priest in the Italian hill town of Calcata shared shocking news with his congregation: The pride of their town, the foreskin of Jesus, had been stolen. Some postulated that it had been stolen by Satanists. Some said the priest himself was to blame. Some even pointed their fingers at the Vatican. In 2006, travel writer David Farley moved to Calcata, determined to find the missing foreskin, or at least find out the truth behind its disappearance. Farley recounts how the relic passed from Charlemagne to the papacy to a marauding sixteenth-century German solider before finally ending up in Calcata, where miracles occurred that made the sleepy town a major pilgrimage destination. Over the centuries, as Catholic theology evolved, the relic came to be viewed as something of an embarrassment...

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From the publisher

A tour through the centuries and through a bizarre Italian town in search of an unbelievable relic: the foreskin of Jesus Christ
In December 1983, a priest in the Italian hill town of Calcata shared shocking news with his congregation: The pride of their town, the foreskin of Jesus, had been stolen. Some postulated that it had been stolen by Satanists. Some said the priest himself was to blame. Some even pointed their fingers at the Vatican. In 2006, travel writer David Farley moved to Calcata, determined to find the missing foreskin, or at least find out the truth behind its disappearance. Farley recounts how the relic passed from Charlemagne to the papacy to a marauding sixteenth-century German solider before finally ending up in Calcata, where miracles occurred that made the sleepy town a major pilgrimage destination. Over the centuries, as Catholic theology evolved, the relic came to be viewed as something of an embarrassment, culminating in a 1900 Church decree that allowed the parish to display it only on New Year's Day.
"An Irreverent Curiosity" interweaves this history with the curious landscape of Calcata, a beautiful and untouched medieval village set atop four-hundred-fifty-foot cliffs, which now, due to the inscrutable machinations of Italian bureaucracy, is a veritable counterculture coven. Blending history, travel, and perhaps the oddest story in Christian lore, "An Irreverent Curiosity" is a weird and wonderful tale of conspiracy and misadventure.

Details

  • Title An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town
  • Author David Farley
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition 1st
  • Pages 291
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Gotham Books, NYC
  • Publication date 2009-07-09
  • ISBN 9781592404544 / 1592404545
  • Weight 1 lbs (0.45 kg)
  • Dimensions 9 x 5.7 x 1.2 in (22.86 x 14.48 x 3.05 cm)
  • Age range 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Category History - General History
  • Library of Congress subjects Jesus Christ - Relics, Jesus Christ - Circumcision
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2009003761
  • Dewey Decimal Code 232.9

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An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town
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An Irreverent Curiosity : In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town

by David Farley

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An Irreverent Curiosity : In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town

An Irreverent Curiosity : In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town

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An Irreverent Curiosity : In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town
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An Irreverent Curiosity : In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town

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AN IRREVERENT CURIOSITY In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in  Italy's Oddest Town
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AN IRREVERENT CURIOSITY In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town

by Farley, David

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by Farley, David

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