The origins of the crib

Giotto Presepe di Greggio

The origins of the nativity are definitely Christian and go back to a tradition of the second century AD, to commemorate the birth of Jesus in the stable at Bethlehem, where it was believed that he was born. In the Gospel of Saint Luke it is said that Mary, having given birth, the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid him in a "Presepe", ie in a manger, which suggests a barn. In the Apocrypha it speaks of a cave and come out an ox and a donkey, placed next to the child to warm with their breath. The invention of the Crib it is instead attributed to St. Francis who in 1223 created the first living Nativity in Greccio .

Our drawing of The first living crib