Ascolta l'arte e mettila da parte
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Le Ultime dallo Stivale

SPECIAL ISSUE – December 20th, 2025 

N.15 – ASCOLTA LARTE E METTILA DA PARTE

N.34- LE ULTIME DALLO STIVALE 

The presepio is one of the most beloved Christmas traditions in Italy. It represents the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and, at the same time, reflects the history, art, and culture of Italy’s different regions. Each family interprets it in its own way: some create a simple scene with just a few figurines, while others build entire miniature villages with mountains, rivers, and shepherds. But how did this custom become so deeply rooted in Italian life?

The origins of the presepio.

The presepio has medieval origins. The first living nativity scene of which we have historical evidence was organized by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1223 in Greccio, a small village in Lazio. Francis wanted to help the faithful understand the poverty and simplicity of Jesus’ birth, so he had a cave prepared with an ox, a donkey, and a manger, inviting the local population to take part in Christmas Mass. From that reenactment a tradition was born that soon spread widely. In the following centuries, Franciscan friars helped popularize the use of the presepio in churches and convents, until it eventually entered private homes as well, especially starting in the sixteenth century.

The meaning of the presepio.

The presepio is more than a Christmas decoration: it is a symbol of peace, welcome, and community. The word “presepio” (or “presepe”) comes from the Latin praesepium, meaning “enclosure” or “manger,” and refers to the place where, according to the Gospels, Jesus was laid after his birth. Every element of the scene has a specific value. The cave represents the simplicity and poverty of the place where Jesus was born; the comet star symbolizes the light of hope and salvation; the shepherds represent ordinary humanity recognizing the mystery of Christmas; the Magi, instead, represent the peoples of the world bringing gifts to the Child. In Italian families, setting up the presepio is a moment of sharing: children often help arrange the figurines, and according to tradition, the Baby Jesus is placed in the manger only on the night of December 24.

Famous presepi in Italy.

In each Italian region, the presepio takes on different forms, shaped by local history and culture. The Neapolitan presepio is perhaps the most famous. Born in the eighteenth century, it combines the sacred scene with everyday life of the time: next to the Holy Family one finds fishermen, fruit sellers, nobles, and musicians. The artisans of the San Gregorio Armeno district in Naples are renowned worldwide for their hand-painted terracotta figurines and for their shops that remain open throughout the year. The Bolognese presepio is characterized by figures made of wood or papier-mâché and by a long devotional tradition in the city’s churches. In Sicily, the presepio is often set in Mediterranean landscapes, with prickly pears and white houses, and living nativity scenes are very popular in historic villages. Every year during the Christmas season, many Italian cities organize exhibitions and nativity-scene competitions, often in collaboration with the Associazione Italiana Amici del Presepio and with local events dedicated to Christmas craftsmanship.

The art and craftsmanship of presepio figurines.

The figurines of the presepio are true works of art. Traditionally they are made of terracotta, wood, or papier-mâché, but today they can also be found in resin or ceramic. In Naples, the artisans of San Gregorio Armeno have passed down the techniques for crafting sacred and secular figures for generations, with workshops that export their creations all over the world. In Puglia, especially in Lecce, papier-mâché production is famous and used for sacred subjects in general and for presepi in particular. In Deruta, in Umbria, the ceramic tradition has also given rise to presepi and figurines in decorated majolica, appreciated as collectible items: each figurine is modeled and painted by hand, the faces show different expressions, the clothing is made with real fabrics or shaped papier-mâché, and the accessories—baskets, bread, fruit, musical instruments—reproduce everyday life of the time.

The presepio today: between tradition and innovation.

The presepio continues to evolve. Alongside traditional models, modern presepi have appeared, made with recycled materials, metal or plexiglass elements, or illuminated with LED systems. In many Italian homes, the presepio coexists with the Christmas tree, a more recent but now equally widespread symbol. There are also thematic presepi dedicated to peace, the environment, or migration, presented in national and local exhibitions—proof that this tradition is still alive and able to adapt to contemporary values.

The tradition of the presepio does not belong solely to popular culture; over the centuries, it has also inspired some of Italy’s greatest artists. For this special issue, “Le Ultime dallo Stivale” meets “Ascolta l’arte e mettila da parte,” dedicated to art history. In the section that follows, Eveline guides us through the earliest artistic representations of the presepio, showing how the Nativity became a central theme in the medieval and Renaissance imagination.

The Art of the Nativity Scene: From Greccio to Rome

The Birth of an Icon: The Greccio Nativity Scene in Giotto’s Art.

Since Eleonora mentioned the importance of Saint Francis in spreading the tradition of the Nativity scene (or presepe), I would like to begin this section dedicated to art by focusing precisely on the Greccio Nativity Scene.

The image in question is located in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi and represents one of the twenty-eight frescoed scenes dedicated to the life of the saint, created by a young Giotto between 1290 and 1295. At the time, not many years had passed since the event of 1223, when Saint Francis had set up the first living Nativity scene in the town of Greccio. However, the image, as often happens in pictorial narratives, idealizes the event. Let us try to understand how.

The scene created by Giotto certainly draws inspiration from hagiographic sources. The two main sources, which the artist and his Franciscan patrons surely knew, were the Vita Prima written by Friar Thomas of Celano in 1228-1229, immediately after the canonization of Francis, and the Legenda Maior by Friar Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, published in 1260-1263 and considered the official biography of the saint.

Both texts discuss the episode of Greccio, giving great emphasis to the enthusiasm shown by Francis in his reenactment of the birth of Jesus Christ, but also to the lively participation of the local inhabitants and the sacred atmosphere that was created on that magical night. Neither author, however, includes precise details about the setup: it is deduced from their descriptions that the scene was set up outdoors, at night, and Bonaventure specifies that Francis had a stable prepared. Apart from the ox and the donkey, there is no mention of the other participants in the event. Were they perhaps puppets? What is certain is that, at a certain point in the accounts, one of the bystanders sees Saint Francis waking the Infant Jesus from sleep, who was previously asleep in the manger.

Giotto’s Theological Interpretation.

Giotto’s painting significantly departs from the hagiographic sources. The artist does not set the scene outdoors but inside a church, specifically in the area of the presbytery. In Giotto’s time, this section, the most sacred, was separated from the main nave by wall structures or enclosures of various kinds, called tramezzi (screens). Only clerics or friars, who had their choir stalls here, could access this space.

In the scene imagined by Giotto, a group of the faithful has been exceptionally admitted beyond the tramezzo. They attend mass from within the presbytery alongside the friars who are chanting their prayers. Women, however, can only peer in from the entrance, as was common for the faithful at the moment of communion. Giotto presents us with a solemn but simultaneously lively scene, animated by various gestures and expressions, exactly as it must have happened in Francis’s time.

The saint appears in the foreground, directly in front of the altar, as he kneels to take Jesus Christ into his arms. The exchange of glances between the two is intimate and tender. They are the only ones whose heads are haloed, a detail that underscores their status within the group.

The figures of Mary and Joseph are missing from this painted Nativity scene, but the two animals, the ox and the donkey, are present. The manger, which serves as Jesus’s cradle, is much more elaborate than the common wooden chests used for fodder. It appears decorated in relief on the sides and closely resembles a sarcophagus. Its proximity to the altar, which is often associated with the tomb of Jesus Christ, reinforces this assimilation and reminds us that the child everyone is observing is, in reality, the Redeemer.

A Nativity Relic: The Holy Cradle.

There is a precious relic linked to the place of Jesus’s first rest which, as you can imagine, is particularly venerated during this Advent season: it is the Holy Cradle (Sacra Culla), today kept in a precious reliquary in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

This church was not chosen randomly to house this object: the building was erected in 432 at the behest of Pope Sixtus III, exactly one year after the proclamation of the dogma of the divine motherhood of Mary. In the 7th century, the church was dedicated to Santa Maria ad Praesepem (Saint Mary of the Manger), following the arrival of the relic of the Holy Cradle which, according to tradition, came to Rome from Jerusalem during the pontificate of Theodore I, a native of the holy city.

The reliquary that holds this venerable object is a work of art in itself. It is a rock crystal case, supported by four gilded putti and closed with a lid. At the top, the Infant Jesus is lying on a straw bed. Inside the reliquary, one can still admire five planks of red maple, a wood typical of the Bethlehem area. Scientific analyses have shown that they date back to the period of Jesus’s birth. Notches still visible in four of the planks suggest that they were originally connected to form a kind of X-shaped stand, which may have been used as a support for a cradle.

The Nativity Scene by Arnolfo di Cambio: Theology in Sculpture.

Given the presence of this important relic, it is not surprising that the first three-dimensional sculptural Nativity scene is visible in this very church. It is the marble group created by Arnolfo di Cambio, a great architect and sculptor of the Gothic era.

Arnolfo received this prestigious commission from Nicholas IV, the first Franciscan pope, who decided to consecrate the role of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore as the center of Roman Christmas devotion. His was an audacious choice: he wanted to transform an ephemeral rite, born from the intuition of Saint Francis at Greccio, into a permanent image, thus translating Franciscan spirituality into sculpture.

The chosen location was not accidental: the chapel of the right transept, the so-called medieval Sistine Chapel, where the precious relics of the Cradle of Christ are kept. At

that time, it was widely believed that Rome was a true new Bethlehem, and Nicholas IV desired that anyone who crossed that chapel could relive the Incarnation.

Thus the Arnolfian Nativity scene was born, which is more a theological program than a narrative. The figures of the Magi, with their solemn gestures, are not simple visitors: they represent the world kneeling before the God made child, the universal Church recognizing its center in Rome. Joseph, solid and engaged, is one of the most innovative characters in the work: he is no longer the marginal old man of Byzantine representations, but a responsible father, a symbol of care and protection, themes very dear to Franciscan spirituality.

The group of the Madonna with Child, attributed by some scholars to a later sculptor, actually jars somewhat with the rest of the sculpted figures. That the hand that created it is different is suggested not only by the craftsmanship but also by the fact that the kneeling Wise Man seems to direct his gaze to something much lower than the current Madonna enthroned. The first Madonna was probably lying on her side with Jesus beside her in the manger.

The fate of the work radically changed in the seventeenth century, when the Nativity scene was dismantled, forgotten, and reassembled only many centuries later. Today it is located in the Crypt of the Nativity, under the main altar, next to the relics of the Cradle: no longer in its original place, but in the very symbolic heart of the basilica.

Stone That Becomes Faith.

Today, looking at that marble Nativity scene, we do not just see a Nativity. We see a work that forever transformed the way Christmas is imagined, which united theology, politics, and art in a single gesture. We see the attempt of a Church to speak to the world through beauty and of an artist capable of sculpting not only bodies but ideas.

The Nativity scene by Arnolfo di Cambio is this: stone that becomes theology, a bridge between Bethlehem and Rome, between Francis and the papacy, between history and faith.

The presepio: two paths, one single story.

This shared journey, between the popular roots of the presepio and the artistic representations of it described by Eveline, shows us how this tradition is able to speak to everyone: believers and non-believers, adults and children, historians and artisans. On the one hand, the domestic presepio expresses the simplicity and emotion of Christmas as it is experienced each year in Italian homes; on the other, the works of art dedicated to the Nativity reveal the theological and symbolic depth that artists have conveyed over the centuries. Together, these two perspectives show that the presepio is much more than a decorative object: it is a shared language that unites art, faith, and humanity, capable of renewing itself over time without losing its original power.

READ THE ARTICLE IN ITALIAN – HERE

DID YOU KNOW?

Every year, in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome, a large presepio is set up, coming from a different region of Italy or from a foreign country. It is a symbolic gesture that connects Italian tradition with the universal spirit of Christmas. Each year, the exhibition “100 presepi” is also held, showcasing 100 different nativity scenes from around the world.

Opere: Arnolfo di Cambio, Presepe, 1291, marmo, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Roma. Giuseppe Valadier, Sacra Culla, 1797, cristallo di rocca, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Roma. Giotto, Il presepe di Greccio, 1290-95, affresco, Basilica superiore di San Francesco, Assisi.

Musiche nel podcast: Charles Chaitman