Basilicata Treasures at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
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"The Secret Garden of Southern Italy"
Photos by New York Scugnizzo
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By Giovanni di Napoli
Do to the unseasonably warm weather in New York City, it doesn’t quite feel like Christmas yet. So, to help me get into the Christmas spirit, I recently visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue to see the presepio (crèche) on loan from Basilacata called “The Secret Garden of Southern Italy.”
Installed on December 8, 2015, Franco Artese’s monumental Nativity Scene will only be on view until January 6, 2016. Inspired by the cultural landscape of Mr. Artese’s native Basilicata—particularly the Sassi di Matera—the terracotta figures, dressed in period clothing, give us a brief glimpse of our past with scenes of everyday life from 1930’s Lucania.
Amazingly, Matera’s rock-hewn landscape hasn’t changed much over the centuries and its choice as the setting for the birth of Christ gives an intangible atmosphere to the presepio.
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| Exhibit brochure |
I love the artist’s choice of placing the Nativity inside the
Cripta del Peccato Originale (Crypt of the Original Sin), a natural cave on the Murgia plateau. Known as the “Sistine Chapel of rupestrian art”, the crypt is one of the oldest examples of rock painting in southern Italy, dating back to the 8th century.
The region’s devotion to the
Madonna del Sacro Monte di Viggiano and San Giuliano Martire are also on display with processional figures carrying the gilded statue of the Blessed Mother and a team of oxen with a felled tree destined for Accettura’s May Festival (
il Maggio di San Giuliano) in honor of their glorious patron.
Matera’s Bell towers of San Pietro Caveoso and the Cattedrale di Matera in the background were also a nice touch.
The "Secret Garden of Southern Italy" combines our religious traditions with local culture and history. Franco Artese has done a masterful job that reflects the soul of Basilicata. It’s definitely worth a visit.
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Surrounded by zampognari (bagpipers), peasants and farm animals,
the Holy Family was sculpted in one solid piece to represent the bond
and strength of the family, as well as their common destiny |
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| Leaving for America |
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| Devotees carry the Madonna del Sacro Monte di Viggiano, the Queen of Lucania |
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| Ladies carry a festive cinte (candle house) in the procession |
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| Scenes of Lucanian daily life |
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| The leper represents sin, which Christ comes to redeem us from |
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| I imagine the band performing songs from Andrea Perrucci's Neapolitan Christmas classic, La Cantata dei Pastori (The Shepherd's Cantata) |
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| Scenes of Lucanian daily life |
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| Charity |
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| A scene of Lucanian daily life |
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| (Left) A pifferari, or fifer. (Right) Ladies watch the festivities from their balcony |
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| (Above and below) Scenes of Lucanian daily life |
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| A woman doing her laundry |
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| Detail of the Crypt of the Original Sin |
