Italian artist creates extraordinary nativity scene for Catholic church in Cambridge
An Italian artist has created this intricate nativity scene for the Our Lady and the English Martyrs Catholic Church in Cambridge, in the style of the famous street of cribs in Naples.
Francesco Connola learned how to make a nativity scene in a traditional Italian design from his father, who used to make them for their neighbours back in Italy.
The huge crib scene, which is around five feet across, shows the Holy family in the stable and a surrounding village filled with shepherds, angels, animals and other figures coming to see the infant Jesus.
Francesco said: “In churches across Italy you can see crib scenes like these. In particular, in my city of Naples it is an ancient tradition. In Naples we have a world-famous street called St Gregorio Armeno, which is dedicated to cribs.
“And the nativity scene is a family tradition that my father passed down to me. He taught me how to build them and often when he was younger many people called on him to have the nativity scenes made. I was always with him as we took them around the neighbourhood and each person gave us a little money in exchange or simply gave us gifts.”
Francesco is an artist who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples in Painting. He moved to Cambridge in 2014 and lives in the city with his wife, Concetta, and son, Jacopo, and works as a painter of portraits in his studio. He decided to offer his skills to the Catholic church on Hills Road in order to bring families together at Christmas.
He said: “I wanted to make the nativity scene for the church to reawaken the old traditions that have been lost over the last century. My hope is to reawaken in all of us the pleasure of fully experiencing the Christmas holiday. Because Christmas is a time of coming together for all people.
“It took me about two months to make the nativity scene, working every day from 6pm to 11pm. Now it is finished I feel a great sense of satisfaction, especially seeing many children together with their parents contemplating it and it was beautiful to see how these children sought explanations from their parents, and they were very happy.”
Francesco created the nativity and village scene from papier-mâché and wood.
Via San Gregorio Armeno in Naples is a street lined with craft shops selling hand made nativity sets and figures that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
