I only selected a couple of pieces of artwork from the Basilica Exhibition Hall to post in this gallery. It took me days to search for the info on this Carrara marble relief.
Finally I decided I could post this one, after I saw it on an Italian website to confirm the info. It's called "Cristo incontra la Veronica", created by late-Baroque Italian sculptor Orazio Marinali (1643–1720).
On the left, Simon of Cyrene helps to lift the weight of the heavy wooden cross as Christ stumbles, when He was carrying the cross to Calvary.
Jesus falls under the cross, turns His face upward in agony.
Moved by deep compassion, Veronica steps through an angry crowd and guards to offer her cloth to Jesus.
She bravely wipes His blood and sweat with her veil, miraculously receiving the imprint of His holy face.
The cloth, called the Veil of Veronica, is traditionally linked to a sacred relic kept in Rome.