Journeys to the Holy Land with the specific intent of commemorating the Christian ‘event’, began in the 2nd century A.D. (among the first such traveller was the bishop of Sardi Melitone) and increased after the age of Constantine. The exhibition focuses attention on three documents of antiquity that illustrate all the journeys to the Holy Land, albeit of different inspiration. The first is the Itinerarium Burdigalense (also known as Hierosolymitanum), which dates back to the year 333 A.D. This lists the stages of the pilgrims\u2019 way between Bordeaux and Jerusalem through a large part of the Roman Empire, and the Asian stage of this route which also contains a number of indications of places mentioned in the Bible and New Testament. The second document dates back to the end of the 4th century. This is Egeria\u2019s Peregrinatio, the diary of the journey of this Roman matron who also visited the loca sancta of Sinai and Egypt. Her journey was similar to another made, also for religious purposes, by other women, the mother of Constantine, Helen and Melania. Finally, a text is examined that probably dates back to the 6th century, the work of an anonymous traveller from Piacenza. This marks a real turning point towards real and true forms of ‘religious tourism’: at each significant stage, the pilgrim meets guides who show him important places and objects, like the manger associated with Jesus\u2019 birth in Bethlehem. This pilgrimage-journey route of antiquity is illustrated in an exhibition of images of places, monuments and objects brought back by pilgrims as relics.<\/p>\n
Curated by Angela Donati<\/strong> and Giancarlo Susini<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Journeys to the Holy Land with the specific intent of commemorating the Christian ‘event’, began in the 2nd century A.D. (among the first such traveller was the bishop of Sardi … <\/p>\n