The result of this analysis dated the origin of the Shroud’s cloth to between 12 (see below, V.1). It witnessed a heightened sensitivity in 1988, when the analysis of the component of C 14 (a radioactive carbon isotope) present in the Shroud’s fabric was carried out. The climate in which the discussions and research developed was very animated from the beginning. The point is to clarify if only a positive answer to that question would legitimize a religious relationship between the believer and this peculiar linen sheet with its image (see below, VII). Questions instantly arise: is this the sheet that actually touched the body of Jesus of Nazareth after he was taken down from the cross? Does the image that it presents truly reproduce the features of the man so important for Christian life? To be able to respond to these questions is something that appeals to the minds and hearts of every person. No ancient discovery concerning Christian origins has ever provoked such interest, because a unique mark is present in the object, one that draws us closer in a very unique way to the “marked” person. At the same time, lively discussions began regarding the so-called “authenticity” of the Shroud, centered on two problems: a) whether the sheet originated from the outset of the Christian era (a problem of dating) and b) whether the image on the Shroud had been produced by the contact between the sheet and the lifeless body of Jesus after his removal from the cross (the problem of the image’s origin). The new perspectives of scientific research provoked a new awareness of the religious relationship that links the believer to the sheet of the Shroud and to the image impressed upon it, increasing both the enthusiasm and the questioning of the possibility that it could actually be the image of Jesus of Nazareth. A new a-typical discipline called “shroudology” was then born, which was to gather together all scientists interested in the study of this ancient linen. This gave origin to a surge of varied initiatives in the field of scientific research that were never again interrupted. Suddenly the features of the suffering man of the Shroud became ever more recognizable and familiar, above all those of the face. The discovery provoked very strong emotions. When developing the plates, Pia noticed that in the photographic negative in front of him, was clearly visible a positive image, whilst the signs present on the original shroud and on its positive image turned out to be like a photographic negative of reality (thus inverting the lighter and darker shades of the image).
At the time, the linen was exposed to the public to celebrate the anniversary of the marriage of Vittorio Emanuele (III) of Savoy with Elena of Montenegro. Between the 25th and the 28th of May 1898, the lawyer Secondo Pia took the first photographs of the Shroud kept as a relic in the cathedral of the city of Turin.
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