Presepe Info
- (or Presepio) The model of the nativity and the adoration of the Magi with statues made of wood or terracotta against a painted background goes back to the 13th-14th century in Tuscany. However, the development of extravagant nativities created in churches, full of scenes of everyday life that were reproduced in amazing detail in terms of the setting and the people, the clothes and the work tools, took place primarily in Naples in the 1700s and 1800s, between the Baroque and the Rococo periods. The 19th century saw the spread of the custom of families making a nativity scene in their own home for the Christmas period, with terracotta, chalk or papier-mâché figures. In the last few decades this practice has become less popular because of the growth in the use of the Northern European Christmas tree.