The nativity scene to Naples, in addition to being an integral part of the collective imagination and Christmas tradition, is a true form of 'art, which has nothing to envy from other types of sculptural or pictorial works; on the contrary, it blends together different techniques.

The origins of the nativity scene in Naples

The origins of the first nativity scene go way back to the small village of Rieti in 1223, where St. Francis decided to create the nativity in its simplest, purest and most stripped-down form: the child, the cave, the ox and thesmall donkey.

The Neapolitan nativity scene as we understand it today, however, will come into being later, and will become a transposition of the nativity of Jesus into the city reality of the Naples of the Eighteenth century. Around 1340, thanks to a Franciscan order, an early draft of what would become the modern nativity scene was created, with a series of wooden representations at human height placed in front of a painted backdrop.

The first revolution artistic nativity scene took place by Gaetano da Thiene at Five hundred, who decided to add for the first time the characters of the people to the composition with Jesus, Joseph and Mary, giving rise to theunion between sacred and layman.

Subsequently, the "fashion" of the nativity scene in Neapolitan homes, and credit goes to Charles III of Bourbon, who became so passionate about this art that he took it with him even to Spain; it was at this very moment that the humble little cave that saw the birth of the Salvatore, was transformed into a complete landscape filled with mountains, waterfalls, roaring rivers, stairways, and everyday characters going about their chores or anxiously awaiting birth.

I noble began to compete with each other for the most beautiful nativity scene, the one that would win the appreciation of the Re, getting into his good graces. The characters were no longer made life-size, but in small scale from real craftsmen, who with painstaking care created with their own hands the so-called "shepherds", the classic Neapolitan commoners as peasants, shepherds, beggars, fishermen, people of the people in taverns or housewives intent on hanging out clothes on the balcony.

Devoting oneself to the making of the crib was not just a pastime, but a real trade: women of the court used fabrics and tessuti from the royal factories by San Leucio to make miniature clothes, while the goldsmiths of the city produced small jewelry that would adorn the most important and deserving statuettes.

Prominent artists include. Joseph Sammartino, the founder of a school of crib artists, Saverio Vassallo, specializing in the making of animals, and Michael Perrone, exponent of the baroque Neapolitan who with his contribution succeeded in making the figurines more realistic by devising dummies by wood with a thread of iron to bind the limbs so that they had more "human" poses.

When in theNineteenth century this fashion faded, many buildings were dismantled or dispersed. Fortunately, two magnificent works have survived to the present day: the Royal Crib, exposed to the Royal Palace of Caserta, and the one donated to the city of Naples by the writer Michele Cuciniello, stored in the Museum of Nativity Scenes of Charterhouse of San Martino.

The nativity scene not only tells of a past religious tradition, but also encapsulates the essence of Naples with its popular beliefs. Certain elements, in fact, are never missing from the nativity scenes in every Neapolitan home, for example the sleeping shepherd boy Benino, to which the angels announce in a dream the birth of the baby Jesus, the market, l'tavern, the bridge and the river, a symbol of divine death and birth.

San Gregorio Armeno: beating heart of Neapolitan nativity art

San Gregorio Armeno is world famous for being the Street of Cribs. But how come?

In this location a temple dedicated to the goddess Ceres, deities of earth and of the fertility. As a form of devotion, were often brought as gifts to the goddess of the figurines by terracotta, made in nearby workshops. Precisely because from its origins the street was used as a place for handicraft manufacture, the old masters handed down this work from generation to generation without ever leaving the area, bequeathing to the city a heritage cultural and artistic unparalleled.

San Gregorio is located along Spaccanapoli, and strolling down this straight stretch of the historic center you will be completely overwhelmed by a burst of energy chaotic and typically Neapolitan. During the Christmas season it is nice to stop and browse the various stores, which are also open the rest of the year but are active especially during the holidays, surrounded by lights, music and the magical atmosphere of the Christmas. Many artists, moreover, enjoy reproducing alternative figurines and not the classic religious figures, but rather cute miniatures of celebrities of policy, of the show and of the television.