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AN Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's OddestTown Paperback – Bargain Price, July 6, 2010

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David Farley (Author)
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4.3 out of 5 stars 37 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Gotham; 1 edition (July 6, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1592405495
  • ASIN: B0048BPEH6
  • Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.8 x 8.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,831,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA Little Piece of Piety
By Rob Hardy HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER on September 25, 2009
Format: Hardcover
There must have been a good deal of early Christianity that the Romans found weird, but Christian fondness for the body parts of deceased heroes and heroines seemed particularly perplexing. Christians actually dug up bodies of martyrs and kissed the bones. When St. Cyprian was beheaded, his followers rushed to sop up his blood with their clothes and then ran off with their sanguine mementos. Of course, some Romans didn't mind being bribed to give up a body for its parts rather than doing away with it in some normal Roman fashion, but reverencing cadaver pieces still seemed peculiar. It is still practiced, and it might still seem peculiar, and if so, the most peculiar of such veneration is the subject of _An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town_ (Gotham Books) by David Farley. Farley, raised Catholic and perhaps not as devout as he used to be, visited Calcata, Italy, an ancient town that sits on a 450-foot cliff, thirty miles from Rome, and accessible only by foot, or by mule. It was there he learned that for centuries the town had been a place of pilgrimage because it was the home of an especially sacred piece of a body. But in 1983, the piece was stolen. Farley's curiosity was up: the sacred item was nothing less than Jesus's foreskin.

As befits a travel writer, Farley spends many pages of this agreeable and amusing book on Calcata, how he got there, and his side trips to do research in Rome or Turin. There are plenty of freaks in Calcata, most of them quite agreeable, and since Farley and his wife spent a year in the village, he got to know them and he writes about them with affection.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsA very enjoyable read...
By Michael J. Meehan on April 26, 2011
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
First of all, I have to confess that, like the author, I am fascinated by the idea and history of relics - so that may bias me a little.

Basically this book recounts the author's search for the "lost" relic of the Holy Foreskin - the little piece of flesh cut of Christ's penis during his circumcision and venerated in many places in Europe up until the 20th century. Thus, one can see why the book was called "An Irreverent Curiosity".

However, I did not find the book irreverent at all. In all honestly, the author treated the topic with more maturity than I would have been able to do. However, while the main focus of the book was on the Holy Foreskin, this book was much more. It was also an account of everyday life in a small town of Italy filled with a variety of interesting characters who the author described in a way which made the reader feel like he was getting to know them (in person) as well. I think I found that aspect of the book - the study of the people and their relationships in this small town - very enjoyable.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to individuals with an interest in relics (unless you are a "fundamentalist" when it comes to that topic) and to individuals who enjoy character studies of real people.

I think this author would be a fun guy to sit down and talk with in person over a cup of coffee or glass of wine ... which is essentially how you have to approach this book - as a conversation with an interesting fellow who is telling a great story about his experiences in a small town in Italy.
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4.0 out of 5 starsPssst! Wanna ogle a freckle scraped off the Baby Jesus?
By Mr. Joe TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on November 25, 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
"When Halloween evening arrived, I put (the costume) all together, (including) my homemade cape, on which I had written SANTO PREPUZIO with a large Superman-style 'SP' underneath. Finally, I put on the brown ski cap, the color of which perfectly matched my brown turtleneck, rolled up the edges of the cap, and affixed a gold circle with the wire over my head." - the author goes to an Italian Halloween party dressed as the Holy Foreskin

Growing up Catholic, I was peripherally aware of the existence of holy relics though I never got too worked up about it. And certainly not to the obsessive degree admitted to by the author of AN IRREVERENT CURIOSITY, David Farley.

To make a long story short, Farley's narrative is an account of his extended stay in the medieval hill town of Calcata, 29 miles north of Rome, in which the Holy Foreskin, ostensibly circumcised from the infant Christ, made its appearance in 1527 and was subsequently venerated as a precious relic until its disappearance in 1983. David's self-imposed mission was to track the lost artifact down. A hobby is a good thing.

Most fascinating to me was Farley's history and description of the type of relics available for veneration by the pious in the Middle Ages subsequent to the death of Charlemagne in 814. Countless slivers of and nails from the True Cross, the breast milk, hair, comb, handkerchief and wedding ring of the Virgin Mary, St.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsSlightly entertaining

I was very disappointed in this book. The basic premise was interesting, but the author eventually bores the reader to death.He writes of the minutia of his search. Read more

Published 1 month ago by cooperkat10
4.0 out of 5 starsI learned a lot

This is an odd book about a strange subject. The author moves to a remote village in Italy in search of Christ's stolen foreskin. Yes, really! Read more

Published 6 months ago by Judith
3.0 out of 5 starsEnjoyed the history.

While I enjoyed the history of the church's relics I saw no reason for the author to bring up politics of the U.S. and his personal feelings toward former President Bush. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Margie
5.0 out of 5 starsAn entertaining and interesting melange of humorous travel/locale...

The author settles in Calcata, Italy, to research what happened to the Holy Foreskin (which, according to Catholic theology, is the only possible meaningful earthly remnant of... Read more

Published on April 29, 2014 by Kindle Customer
1.0 out of 5 starsbad at writing

this book was picked by our book club and only one person read it and the other nine couldn't get thru even half. Read more

Published on March 10, 2014 by Bobbi
5.0 out of 5 starsA fun read with a taste of Italy

I found this book at the end of a 4 month time in Rome where I was becoming increasingly fascinated by the many unusual relics in churches and the lack of information about... Read more

Published on May 8, 2013 by B. Baur
3.0 out of 5 starsirreverent curiosity

i am more fascinated by the idea behind the book than how it all actually came out. i like the whole idea, but his search for the relic really did not seem to pan out, or to come... Read more

Published on January 27, 2013 by nadja crowfeather
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat, funny, and interesting book!

I bought this book for my mom for Christmas and then borrowed it when she finished! I am huge fan of anything Italy and I really enjoyed the authors detail about life in a small... Read more

Published on July 8, 2012 by Stacy A. Moate
5.0 out of 5 starsFunny, Charming

This is a funny, charming travel memoir about the search for Jesus's foreskin, the "missing relic," in a remote Italian village that's full of eccentric characters--proof that that... Read more

Published on September 15, 2011 by Karol Nielsen
3.0 out of 5 starsCould have been a good article, but became a mediocre book

The book is not without its bright sides - there are interesting facts about relics and early Christianity and the Holy Foreskin. Read more

Published on August 1, 2011 by Yegor Voronin

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