The tradition of making and decorating cribs at Christmas was brought to Rome from Greccio in Umbria, where Saint Francis of Assisi made the first one in 1223. The birth of Jesus, however, was a subject that had inspired painters and sculptors long before that.

Representations of the night in Bethlehem were even made in ancient times as paintings in the catacombs of Domitilla from the third or fourth centuries show. Here can be found representations of the arrival of the Magi who, rather unusually, are four in number. Joseph, however, is not present. Several centuries would pass before he was to become a regular fixture in the scene.

Our Christmas crib itinerary starts from the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore where each year between the 24 December and the 6 January one of the most antique rapresentation of the Nativity can be seen. This is to be found under the Sistine Chapel (not to be confused with the more famous chapel in the Vatican). In a niche of the ambulatory below the altar. It was moved there from its original place in the main apse of the Basilica by Domenico Fontana during restoration works at the end of the sixteenth century.

This Christmas crib was carved in 1289 by Arnolfo di Cambio with a sensitiveness and expressiveness that is a prelude to Renaissance art. The crib is made of six figures: St Joseph, the Three Wise Men, the ox and the ass. The statue of Mary is not the original sculpted by Arnolfo di Cambio since this particular piece is now lost. In its place is another sculpture, dating from the second part of the fifteenth century. At Christmas on the Capitol Hill, in the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, can be seen a statue rapresenting the baby Jesus. This is placed in a nineteenth-century crib and is venerated by the faithful. Unfortunately the statue that can be seen today is only a copy of the original which was stolen about four years ago. The original statue, said to have been carved in wood from a tree from the garden of Gethsemane, is reputed to have miraculous powers and several inexplicable recoveries have been attributed to it. Indeed it was brought to the beds of seriously ill people to aid their recovery. A legend says that the statue was once taken off by a women who kept it in her house for some six years to confess her crime only on at death's door. The story goes that while she was dying the statue walked back to the church of Aracoeli and announced its arrival by playing the church bells! Roman children go to Santa Maria in Aracoeli in order to recite their Christmas poems in front of the chapel of the crib. Letters addressed to the Baby from all over the world are placed at his feet. They are never opened or read by the Franciscan monks in the church. After a certain period these letters are burnt their private messages reserved for Jesus alone.

Let's now descend the 122 steps on our way to Piazza Venezia and the church of San Marcello in the Via del Corso. On the way a stop can be made to visit the interesting collection of the Museum of Palazzo di Venezia.
Among the treasures kept there is a sixteenth-century tapestry representing the Nativity, and sculptures of two of the Magi.
Let's now take the busy Via del Corso to visit the cribs in the church of San Marcello al Corso and, a little further on,in the church of Santa Maria in Via (Location: Via S.M.in Via/Largo Chigi) where there is a beautiful Neapoletan Christmas crib from the eighteenth century. In this version the volcano Vesuvius dominates the scene, which is enriched further with representations of events in the daily life of shepherds and craftsmen.

Each year the Comune di Roma sets up a Christmas crib on the Spanish Steps (on Piazza di Spagna) the setting and costumes of which recall Trastevere and its inhabitants as it was rapresented by the Roman artist Bartolomeo Pinelli in the nineteenth century. This Crib was given to the city by the artist Angelo Urbani del Fabretto. Taking the Via del Babuino we arrive at Piazza del Popolo and the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. There, in the first chapel on the right is a moving and delightful representation of the adoration of the shepherds painted by Pinturicchio and in which the Three Wise Men can also be spotted as small figures approaching in the background.

The greatest and the most visited Christmas Crib, however, is the one that can be found in Piazza San Pietro with statues the size of real people. At night the whole scene is a real attraction: the colonnade of Saint Peter's square and the illuminated dome frame the crib beside which stands a great Christmas tree, 30 metres high!

Crib making has always been a way to celebrate the Nativity and the Romans like to make their own cribs at home especially for the amusement of the children. Cribs can be made with any kind of material but the little figures can be also purchased at the annual Christmas fair in Piazza Navona. I would especially recommend a visit to the great Christmas Crib exhibition called the Cento Presepi (one hundred Christmas Cribs). This is set each year by the church of Santa Maria del Popolo (in the room of Bramante) and is definitely worth a visit for both children and adults!
A museum of Christmas Cribs can be found in the Via Tor de' Conti (Via Cavour) under the church of Saints Quirico and Giuditta.

LOCATION OF OTHER CHRISTMAS CRIBS IN ROME:
SS. Cosma and Damian, Via dei Fori Imperiali 1 - Napoletan Crib ('700);
S. Maria in Via, Via del Mortaro 24;
San Carlo alle 4 Fontane, Via delle 4 Fontane;
Saint Paul outside the Walls, Via Ostiense 186;
S. Pietro in Montorio, Piazza S. Pietro in Montorio;
SS. Trinità dei Monti, P. Trinità dei Monti (Spanish Steps);
SS. Apostoli, P. SS. Apostoli;
S. Ignazio, P. Sant'Ignazio;
S. Francesco delle Stimmate, Via del Gesù;
S.Andrea della Valle, Corso Vittorio Em. II;
Termini Station;
Gesù e Maria and San Carlo both on Via del Corso.

...AND OUT OF ROME
Christmas is a very busy time in many provincial centres: decorations, artistic cribs, crib competitions, distribution of gifts to children, illuminations, theatrical performances and games enliven the festive period and in particular at:
Camerata Nuova, Capena, Castelchiodato, Castelmadama, Castel S. Pietro Romano, Cerreto, Ciciliano, Cineto Romano, Colleferro, Fregene, Gallicano, Gavignano, Genzano, Gerano, Mandela, Manziana, Mazzano Romano, Montelanico, Morlupo, Palombara Sabina, Passoscuro, Riano, Rignano Flaminio, Rocca Canterano, Rocca di Cave, Roccagiovine, Rocca Santo Stefano, Roviano, Sacrofano, San Cesareo, Sant'Oreste, San Vito Romano, Segni, Tolfa, Torrita Tiberina, Vallepietra, Valmontone, Velletri, Vicovaro.