- Feb 5, 2002
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(OSV News) — By American standards, the Via San Gregorio Armeno wouldn’t even qualify as an alley. Measuring perhaps 5 feet across, it’s barely wide enough for three men to pass through it abreast. Yet come Advent, the little street in Naples, Italy, welcomes thousands of visitors from around the country and around the world every day.
The visitors come not because the street leads anywhere, but rather for the street itself. Or, more accurately, for the shops that line the street — hundreds of tiny workshops, where artisans and their assistants craft the “presepe” for which Naples is known.
The Americans who visit are inclined to call the presepe Nativity scenes, but that doesn’t do them justice. They are much more than that. They are more than Mary, Jesus and Joseph. More than oxen, donkeys and sheep. More even than shepherds, angels and Wise Men.
The detailing of each and every piece of the presepefound along the Via San Gregorio Armeno is exact and minute, the work of artists who spend years honing their craft. The Neapolitans take their presepe seriously. For them, it’s more than art. It’s their heritage, part of their city’s life since the modern presepio first was crafted here in the mid-16th century.
The visitors come not because the street leads anywhere, but rather for the street itself. Or, more accurately, for the shops that line the street — hundreds of tiny workshops, where artisans and their assistants craft the “presepe” for which Naples is known.
The Americans who visit are inclined to call the presepe Nativity scenes, but that doesn’t do them justice. They are much more than that. They are more than Mary, Jesus and Joseph. More than oxen, donkeys and sheep. More even than shepherds, angels and Wise Men.
Elaborate scenes
The presepe are entire villages, with butchers, bakers and candlestick makers all going about the business of their lives while the newly born Christ Child sleeps in their midst. In the houses and shops of the presepe, fires burn and candles gleam. Bread appears to bake. Wine stands ready for pouring. This is no silent night but rather a night filled with love, laughter and life.The detailing of each and every piece of the presepefound along the Via San Gregorio Armeno is exact and minute, the work of artists who spend years honing their craft. The Neapolitans take their presepe seriously. For them, it’s more than art. It’s their heritage, part of their city’s life since the modern presepio first was crafted here in the mid-16th century.
| Nativity scene’s origins Continued below. 
Neapolitan crèches call us to see Christ wherever we areThe detailing of each and every piece of the presepe found along the Via San Gregorio Armeno is exact and minute, the work of artists who spend years honing their craft. The Neapolitans take their presepe seriously. For them, it's more than art. It's their heritage, part of their city's life...
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