Wagner made very sure people would pay attention to the meaning of the opera he called his 'farewell to the world', by decreeing that it should only be performed, like a sacred ritual, in his theatre in Bayreuth. And though it was conceived as – and undoubtedly is – a paean to peace and reconciliation, it has sowed remarkable discord among the cognoscenti.
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New BBC series to examine Shakespeare's world
Tuesday 20 March 2012
A dagger, an eye relic and a fork are among the subjects of a new BBC series which will examine the turbulent lives of the Bard's original audience.
Dublin patron saint's heart stolen in cathedral raid
Sunday 04 March 2012
Irish police puzzled by latest in series of bizarre thefts of religious artefacts from churches
David Shrigley: Brain Activity, Hayward Gallery,
London
Sunday 05 February 2012
The master of whimsy wears his art-school credentials on his sleeve, but his ideas feel derivative and the jokes wear thin
Picture of the Day: Sorry Rudolph, we're taking the gondola...
Tuesday 27 December 2011
Rowers dressed as Father Christmas escort a gondola ferrying a live nativity scene from St Mark's Basilica to the island of San Giorgio in Venice yesterday.
Trail of the unexpected: Saint Nicholas in Puglia
Saturday 24 December 2011
A Turkish bishop adopted by an Italian port is an inspiration for shoppers.
Scientists say Turin Shroud is supernatural
Tuesday 20 December 2011
Italian government scientists have claimed to have discovered evidence that a supernatural event formed the image on the Turin Shroud, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ.
Boom in demand for relics from the Third Reich
Friday 09 December 2011
US auction house expects bids in excess of $300,00 as memorabilia attracts new wave of buyers
You're never too old to party. Ask Durham
Sunday 13 November 2011
City Slicker: Durham - The city is celebrating 25 years on the Unesco World Heritage list. Sarah Barrell offers ideas for new and returning visitors
Number's up: The end of the little black book
Saturday 30 July 2011
Mobile technology has transformed journalism – and besides enabling phone hacking, it has also erased the status of that once-prized possession, the contacts book
A return to Ground Zero
Monday 25 July 2011
A cross made of steel beams salvaged from the World Trade Center wreckage has been returned to the site, where it will form part of amemorial to those who died in the 11 September attacks in 2001.
Ancient articles of faith: Catholic antiquities
Monday 27 June 2011
Whether you believe in the spiritual power of religious relics or not, the British Museum's exhibition of Catholic antiquities contains some wonderful art, says Adrian Hamilton
Provenance uncertain, but ancient human head draws plenty of bidders
Tuesday 31 May 2011
Auctions often throw up some pretty unusual lots, none more so than the human head that went under the hammer in rural Ireland at the weekend. And this is not just any old human head: it is claimed to be that of St Vitalis of Assisi, the patron saint of genital diseases.
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