Linen, precious as the future

Linen, precious as the future

Linen, precious as the future

Textile Tradition and the Shroud

Textile Tradition and the Shroud: A Journey in Creating Reproductions of the Shroud.

In the heart of Val Gandino, a land of ancient textile tradition, an extraordinary project has emerged uniting faith, craftsmanship, and technology: the creation of certified 1:1 scale replicas of the Holy Shroud.

 

Linificio e Canapificio Nazionale, guardian of a millennial art, has played a fundamental role in this unique endeavor.

The Roots of the Project

It all began with a seemingly impossible challenge: to faithfully reproduce the fabric of the Shroud, an ancient linen with unique characteristics. The team of experts at Linificio immersed themselves in intense research, rediscovering forgotten linen varieties and ancestral processing techniques.

Linificio’s Contribution

The selection of the ideal seed for the project was made possible thanks to the collaboration with Terre de Lin, the French agricultural consortium that has been a partner of Linificio e Canapificio Nazionale for years. Eden is the variety chosen that most closely resembles the characteristics of the original Shroud linen.

Subsequently, the fibers were processed using techniques that blend traditional methods with modern innovations, to obtain a yarn of exceptional quality and historical fidelity.

A Network of Excellence

The project involved the collaboration of several partners led by the team of the Cinque Terre della Val Gandino for the Lino Val Gandino project.

Torri Lana 1885, Gandino: carried out the weaving, faithfully replicating the weft and warp of the original.

EFI Reggiani, Grassobbio: handled the high-definition printing, reproducing every minute detail of the Shroud image

International Center for Turin Shroud Studies: provided scientific support.

Museum of the Shroud in Turin: collaborated to ensure maximum authenticity of the result.

The copies of the Shroud have embarked on a journey that has taken them to symbolic places of faith and world culture:

  • The Museum of the Bible in Washington
  • Cairo, a bridge between East and West
  • Oviedo, Spain, guardian of ancient relics
  • Chambery, France, where the Shroud was preserved for centuries

In 2025, on the occasion of the Jubilee, a copy will be exhibited at the Shroud Museum in Turin, symbolically closing a circle of faith and tradition.

This initiative is not only a tribute to history and faith but also an example of how the Italian textile industry can innovate while respecting tradition. The Shroud replica project demonstrates how excellence, combined with scientific and technological research, can create bridges between past and future, between faith and science, between different cultures and traditions.

Linificio e Canapificio Nazionale is proud to have contributed to this extraordinary project, which brings to the world not only a masterpiece of textile art but also a message of hope, unity, and historical continuity.