The Curator of the Wignacourt Museum in Rabat, together with Fr Edgar Vella and his team – Herbert Mifsud, Omar Camilleri , Martin Gatt and John Farrugia, is setting up the exhibition of the 18th century Neapolitan crib for the second time.

This exhibition will conclude the activities marking the 25th anniversary of the opening of the museum. It is important to note that the crib figurines are authentic original pieces. The collection is composed of over 100 figurines that were acquired over the past years from various collections and auctions from abroad.

Naples was the cradle of the famous traditional and artistic crib for many centuries. This tradition had its roots way back in time and in the late 16th century the manufacture of the crib characters was considered as an established trade and the artisans were known as “figurarum sculptores” or “figurinai”.

This activity reached its golden age in the 18th century, a period during which the love for creating the “presepio” involved people from all classes of the city.

The composition of the Neapolitan crib was made on a constant pattern in which the holy event is divided into three main narrative sequences namely: The Nativity of Jesus, known as “il mistero”, is set in the ruins of a pagan Roman temple, symbolising the birth of Christianity and the decadence of paganism. The nativity scene includes the adoration of the Magi accompanied by their entourage of pages and exotic figures.

Then we see the “annuncio”, which shows the apparition of the angel who gives the news of the birth of the saviour to the astonished shepherds.

Finally we see the tavern scene. This rustic episode shows characters in a merry mood chatting, dining and playing musical instruments and hardly noticing the holy event. This represents the hostility of the innkeepers of Bethlehem who failed to give shelter to Mary and Joseph in the first Christmas. This crib will show the scene of the bridge that symbolises the passage from the darkness of ignorance to the light of faith.

The final scene shows the fountain modelled with fine baroque features, which makes the crib more elaborate. This scene symbolises Christ as the one who gives the water of eternal life as stated in the meeting with the woman from Samaria.

The whole ensemble is completed with minutely detailed miniatures that render the crib more realistic.

As the art of the “presepio” developed it took on the cheerful vitality and imagination of the Neapolitan spirit. The dramatic Neapolitan street life was in itself like a perpetual carefree theatrical show, which made the character of the Neapolitan “presepio” bursti with light, movement drama and noise.

Thus the Nativity event became a picture of the Neapolitan daily life as if the Gospel had been written in dialect. Naples is the “presepio” and the “presepio” is Naples. It is precisely for this reason that the Neapolitan crib in the course of centuries has become an integral and interesting part of the city itself.

It has fascinated and continues to fascinate people from all parts of the world. It represents and will always represent the truest and most lively part of the Neapolitan people, captured in its most variegated environments.