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Il Presepio - Nativity Figurines
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Italy - 'Tis the season when it seems that everywhere you turn in Italy there is a presepio (nativity scene). Whether they're in the churches, schools, people's home, stores, even offices, you begin to realize that the number of figurines circulating are probably equal to if not more than the number of people!
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No surprise really. While presepi are certainly about the nativity scene itself, they are also an art form in which people re-create their world. The Neapolitans are masters of the form, both with the ancient baroque terracotta figurines for which they are famous which are brought out every year, as well as for contemporary ones. Many presepi Napoletani will feature figurines of current characters . . . famous (or infamous) politicians, soccer players, actors and TV people . . all that have relevance in peoples' lives are included.
The theme is always the same of course, but the scene or scena, which in Italian also means "stage", is different in each case. No surprise that a popular activity on a cold holiday evening is walking around town visiting one presepe after another, each pleasantly different in its own way.
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--contributed by GB (see bio), owner of Welcome Home, quality expatriate housing in Rome since 1984.
| Dear Reader, Today, December 21st, is the last note for 2007. Italian Notebook, true to Italian holidays(!), will begin publishing again as of January 7th, 2008. Auguri, auguri, and more auguri for the holidays, Christmas, and the New Year to you all! -Ed. |
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