3-034-875 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Festival of the Presepe, in the Ara Coeli Church, at the Capitol, Rome, 1871. 'The most remarkable sight to be witnessed by strangers in the church of the Ara Coeli [or Altar of Heaven], especially at Christmas-time, is the..."Presepe," Stall, or Manger, an ecclesiastical pageant got up here, as elsewhere in Italy, for the edification of young folk, setting before their eyes a moving and living picture of the Nativity of Christ, with the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, the Magi or Shepherd Kings of the East, and other personages of the gospel history, represented in dumb show...It goes on daily, from Christmas to Epiphany, or Twelfth Day, and is attended by multitudes of spectators and auditors. The parents come with their children, and the poorer class of people are, perhaps, willing to enjoy a pretty, fantastic, entertaining show as well as to take their share of the blessing derived from its religious patronage and sanction'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871.