An 18th-century Sicilian nativity scene from the Giannettino Luxoro Museum in Genoa at Musei Civici d'Arte Antica

As a tradition within a tradition, in the run-up to Christmas the Musei Civici d'Arte Antica, in collaboration with the Centro Studi per la Cultura Popolare, are promoting an exhibition dedicated to the nativity scene at the Davia Bargellini Museum.

This year the exhibition, curated by Adele Tomarchio, thanks to the loan of an extraordinary "scarabattola" from the Giannettino Luxoro Museum in Genoa, presents a Sicilian nativity scene to the public. The fulcrum of the scene is the Adoration of the Magi by the famous Trapanese sculptor and modeller Giovanni Antonio Matera (1653-1718). Compared to the latter, which was modelled entirely in terracotta, the Sicilian one is "moved" and dramatic in order to better respond to the needs of faith that the artistic culture of the island, under Spanish rule, needed to express; in fact, crib groups lent themselves to activating the empathy and participation of the faithful, to promote a return to deeply felt religious values.

On a shaped base of gilded wood, resting on lion's paw feet, stands an architectural scenography, combining a ruined building with a rural setting, typical of the nativity scene. The setting is completed by the "wonders" of nature that come from the sea and uniquely characterise Sicilian nativity scene production, capable of combining ‘rich’ materials from the world of goldsmithing with ‘poor’ ones, such as papier-mâché and cork, used by Matera to make the rocks.