We haven’t been in Italy that long, but already saw some pretty amazing Nativity Scenes. St. Francis invented them, we found out. He came up with the very first one, in Greccio, in between Assisi and Rome. It was intended to prevent pilgrims to attempt to go to Bethlehem, which was a dangerous journey those days. Still is, I suppose.
It suits St Francis to come up with such a charming idea. His focus was on poverty, of course. The baby in a crib of straw. A cow and a donkey to keep him warm. He loved animals, St Francis.
Outside of the Basilica di San Francesco – not really the perfect display for someone who cherished poverty! – there was an enormous field full of shepherds and Mary and Joseph waiting for their baby boy to be born. ‘Where’s Jesus?’, Julie asked, almost blasphemously. ‘It is only the beginning of december’, I answered. ‘Patience, he will get there.’
(Today is the Catholic (christian?) holy day of the Immaculate Conception. That’s when Maria got pregnant from Jesus, through God, Julie explained to me. She didn’t know if it was a two week pregnancy – more women would like that – or a one year and two weeks pregnancy – not to be preferred. God is certainly able to create a 8,5 month baby, I assume.)
I loved the scene in frosty Assisi. There were more than 50 shepherds, I would guess, male and female. I realised I could not remember ever haven seen a female shepherd in a nativity scene. Nor in reality, when I think about it. They, the women, seemed to have a tendency to harvest radishes, which is not something that I ever heard about in the Gospel. But then, it is good to have one’s own interpretation to these things.
Maybe the Italian Cooperation of Radishes Growers was behind it. This might be less strange than it sounds. The sheep in the nativity scene all had big $-signs over their backs. You could hear St Francis farther up turning around in his grave. Sinful, sinful!
Italians love Nativity scenes, and I love them for it. In the Duomo in Arezzo we had seen one yesterday, but I was reminded of it In Assisi. Good sized sculptures they were in Aruzzo, as I remember them from the Nativity Scene at my grandparents’ house in Nijmegen. Never seen as big a sculptures in someone’s private home ever since.
Jesus was wearing a nice white dress in Arezzo, with some silver stitching at the seams. If they could afford silver stitching, why couldn’t they afford central heating. Also something St Francis would have shaken his head about.
After a while, looking at these things makes one a little sentimental, again, Julie jumped up – she has this most amazing ability to perform her most natural behaviour in a very theatrical way – and almost screamed: ‘He moves’. And indeed, baby Jesus lifted himself up, opened up his arms to embrace the world, and would fall back to a sudden slumber.
Looking farther one could see a fisherman actually catching fish and a baker baking bread. There was much more going on here than just a baby being born throug an immaculate conception. One wonder was not enough for the creators of the Arezzo Nativity Scene.
Couldn’t resist and bought a little nativity scene at the gift shop. It was only €2,50. And someone seems to have painted real eyes and a lovely little smile on Jesus. Knocked of Josephs head immediately though. But then again, with his glued on head he will look a little bit less like the gift shop ones, and a little more like our own little storaged away Nativity Scene in Sussex, which looked a little more perfect every year, although I can not remember a year that something didn’t break. Wonder if we will still appreciate it after this unharmed year, supposing that it will survive the moving and storage.
Siobhan says
This was a lovely story – funny, sweet, and I learned so much!! I can just see you both in your apartment in Italy, exploring, visiting sites of religious and historic importance, and putting your own vision on them. And i hear Julie saying “He moves!” loud and clear!