Exhibition Held in Pescara Entitled "The Face of the Invisible - Manoppello and the Mystery of the True Icon"

Pescara hosted a conference for the presentation of the catalog for the exhibition "The Face of the Invisible: Manoppello and the Mystery of the True Icon," curated by Marco Bussagli, a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, an authoritative scholar specializing in artistic anatomy. The catalog for the exhibition, published in Italian and English, includes significant articles by Bussagli and also by Veronika Seifert, a theologian and church historian who currently works at the Vatican.


In his lengthy text Bussagli's argument is fundamentally linked to the presumed presence in the Holy Face of the so-called "fifth incisor," a dental anomaly, which he develops with extensive research and comparison with artworks prior to the Sack of Rome (with over 100 notes). Bussagli is completely convinced that the Holy Face is to be identified with the Veronica,

Seifert in her presentation emphasizes the exceptional significance of the Face of Manoppello— describing it as the face of the Resurrection. Both her presentation and that of Professor Bussagli draw upon the research conducted by Fr. Pfeiffer.


Also in attendance at the conference was the physicist Paolo Di Lazzaro, who coordinated the work of the International Workshop on the Scientific Approach to the Acheiropoietos Images (IWSAI).


The exhibition, held from June 19 to September 27 at the Imago Museum in Pescara, was promoted and produced by the Fondazione Pescarabruzzo in collaboration with the Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello, the Seraphic Province of the Immaculate Conception of the Capuchin Friars Minor of Central Italy, the Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto, the Fondazione Academia Carrara di Bergamo, with works of art lent for display by public and private institutions.



The exhibition explored one of the most compelling themes in the history of Christianity: the quest for the face of Christ and the mystery of the Holy Face of Manoppello.


The website of the museum IL VOLTO DELL'INVISIBILE | Imago Museum describes the purpose of exhibition


"Through artworks, manuscripts, historical documents, and scientific contributions, the exhibition offers a multidisciplinary perspective on the so-called "True Icon" and its role in European culture between the Middle Ages and the modern era."