Virtual Nativity - Saint Mary Major Basilica

Nativity Scene in Saint Mary Major Basilica, Rome

by Arnolfo di Cambio

As the end of this Virtual Nativity is approached it is fitting to include a Nativity scene that has an association with an artefact that originated from this important event.

According to tradition Saint Mary Major Basilica on the Esquiline Hill in Rome houses relics of the Cradle of Jesus. The church also is home to a nativity scene sculpted in 1291 by Arnolfo di Cambio. It has eight statues:

Mary holding the infant Jesus;
Joseph leaning on his walking stick;
the heads of the oxen and the donkey;
and the three Wise Men, one of them kneeling.

They silently witness the miracle of God coming into the world as a child and quietly tell this story to anyone looking.

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