What is so special about a holy crib made in Napoli?
You can feel the heart, the soul and the history of Naples walking along the streets of the historical center and in particular along via San Gregorio Armeno, the street known worldwide for its tiny shops of artisans. What is special about them is that they work all year-round to realize a unique holy crib and decorations for Christmas.
The magic of Christmas in Naples is always alive in this street. It is a narrow cobblestoned alley running between via dei Tribunali and via San Biagio dei Librai.
Even though it’s at Christmas time that this tiny street becomes a giant Presepe and attracts thousands of tourists charmed by the mastery of the artisans. Also, the Neapolitans use to go to San Gregorio each year to buy traditional Nativity figures. But there you can also find symbolic characters like butchers, bakers and pizza makers. They really recall everyday life in the 18th century. Just as large and small types of the holy crib! Just think that some of them are adorned with lights and water elements.
The artisans who are specialized in making the perfect holy crib create the finely crafted figures following ancient techniques. These techniques date back to the 18th century! Plus, they also create tiny statues representing famous Italian and foreign politicians, actors or football players.
But you can leave for a while the cheerful and characteristic atmosphere of the street entering the beautiful baroque church of San Gregorio Armeno with its peaceful cloister and beautiful bell-tower that will make you forget for a while the noisy bustle.