The nativity scene of San Francesco, it has always been linked to tenderness and romantic memories tied to childhood.
And this does not differ from the legend that Saint Francis wants to recreate a mystical and spiritual atmosphere at the same time.
The nativity scene of San Francesco
The nativity scene, understood as we see it today in many houses, with huts or grottoes, made of poor material, was born by the will of the poor man of Assisi. It was 1209 when St. Francis for the first time went to Greccio, where he had managed to put an end to serious calamities. Among other things, the town had suffered terrible assaults by wolves. In this Apennine locality, Assisi had built a hut on the Mount Lacerone, called precisely of San Francesco. Later it was built there a chapel in 1712.
From the year 1217, the noble Giovanni Velita di Greccio became a good friend of San Francesco, and asked him to approach the city to preach to the people. In these places the desire to recall the birth of Jesus was born in the saint. Probably this desire had matured after 1223, after the trip made to Palestine. It seems that Greccio was very reminiscent of Bethlehem, to the Saint of Assisi.
The crib of Greccio
Pietro Di Bernardone's son, who became poor, thus expressed the desire to celebrate Christmas Eve in those places. Francis recalled the birth of Jesus by organizing the first living nativity scene. According to the stories, during the Mass, a miracle took place. Saint Francis therefore instructed Giovanni Velita to choose a cave, where he would have built a manger, and to bring an ox and a donkey there. Francis, in memory of Christ's birth, ordered that the first crib made of rags be assembled. He wished that he would bring hay, an ox and a donkey and a rag doll.
The saint preached about the nativity of the "poor King", and while he was praying and contemplating the nativity, something happened. The knight saw the Child Jesus in place of what the saint had brought, move and come alive. So it all happened during the Christmas night of 1223 in Greccio, today the province of Rieti.
baby Jesus
A flesh and blood child would appear, whom Francesco would take in his arms. From this episode originated the tradition of the nativity scene today spread all over the world. The scene is recalled by Giotto in a well-known painting, which however places the scene in the presbytery, reminiscent of the lower Basilica of Assisi. The scene, as well as one of the most famous, is an extraordinary document of the time. The spectator observes from the part usually reserved only for priests, where they are represented with detail and vivacity features of the environment. A crowd of people watch the scene, and in the foreground is San Francesco with the Holy Child in his hands. In Greccio the tradition and the memory of the poor man of Assisi and the rag doll have never been lost. That pile of rags really came alive and aroused wonder. Today the holy tradition is still alive in Greccio.
The nativity scene of San Francesco recalled in Greccio
Since 1972 a living nativity scene has also been set up, curated by the Pro Loco of the small town in the province of Rieti. Some of dialogues were extrapolated from the texts of the first biographer of St. Francis, Tommaso Celano. The representation is divided into six living paintings, in which every peculiarity is treated in detail. Everything is meticulously consistent at the time, from the costumes of 1200, which come from the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Even the scenographies are very accurate, full of spirituality and enchantment, between places touched by the divine. La commemoration religious of the first nativity scene in history, it is for Greccio not only a source of pride, but also a moment of cohesion between villagers. Each year it is an unmissable event and a truly unique show in the world.
