The Neapolitan Crib
The Neapolitan Crib was created, as the Christ's birth representation, in 1470, by the Giovanni and Pietro Alemanno brothers. This crib was composed by ligneous picture in a quite natural height, without accessories that could have distracted the attention from the holy event importance that they represented, and it were solemn images that invited to religiosity and prey. During the sixteenth century the first changes. In a notary document of 1532 there is the crib's description, with terra-cotta painted shepherd, created for the noble Judge Matteo Mastrogiudice from Sorrento. We found the first scenery' s indications with some landscapes and further than the ox and the donkey, always followed by the Holy Family, ther are other animals, two shepherds and three angels. The crib structure presents the came on the first plane and on its side there are the shepherds in adoration, than the holy mountain with the other shepherds followed by flocks and angels that announce the good news, and faraway the three Mages cortège. During all this century there were two kinds of shepherds : the wooden and the terra cotta one, which become more little in comparison with those of the fifteenth century, from about the end of the century.It is in the first half of the 1600 that begin to be important the picture of the artist dedicating his work even to the shepherds creation. Michele Perrone , famous for his ligneous sculptures, dedicated himself with a remarkable success to this activity. In the same way worked his brothers Aniello e Donato. In addition to the wood, in the second half of the century other innovations appeared, paper pulp shepherds and wooden manikin with adjustable arms and material clothes. There were these adjustable wooden mannequins that stated the crib turning,even if they often live in two types. The wooden manikins are adjustable, some have a hole were the head is put, in other cases the haed is a whole with the body. This will be a whole, the jointing ring with 700 crib. The nativity put in the big stable, the Announce of the good News to the sleeping shepherds, the Tavern were visitors have a dinner, are the three elements dominanting the 700 crib.
The Nativity for a large part of the century will be represented always with the Virgin seated on a stone ans s. Joseph standing in a stable-cave. Subsequently, even by the help of the great archaeological discoveries of the Borbone, the scenery will begin sometimes the pagan ruins temple. The annunciation, on the contrary, left few interpretations from crib makers architects. The Tavern allowed to may artists and their committers to satisfy their whims.
during this century that the Neapolitan crib reached his highest splendour. the wonder of the sense constitutes with many particulars and the care, the plasticity of the shepherds faces, created in visitors amusement and wonder. This century crib is a new form of happening were we found everyday life representations, reflecting that epoch culture, the crippled and poor showed with irony, the opulence of oriental nobles and their courts representing the nobles privileges, the tavern with the traveller and the host the symbol of people goodness.
Everything in addition with a great number of silk and clothes, gold and silver that had to show their social position. The places of these representations were not only churches but also the privates rooms, clearly more rich, that attracted a numerous public coming from every social stratus. Among tjr most important private collections there is that of Emanuele Pinto, who received the Austrian vice queen visit. The Prince of Ischitella was a great cribs collector. He had cribs for every material and put in every rooms of his building, that were summed to the big one. During the time, however the Pinto crib, was not the only one to admire in the town. To this many others were added including the royal one.
These events le tour think that the crib was loosing his mysticism to transform itself more and more in a profane representation destined to affirm the family prestige. However at the end of the century the private collections begun to dissolve. The Prince Emanuele Pinto was obliged to pawn the Magi jewels and the shepherds golds to front a moment lack of money. When the last crib makers the great masters disciples dead the Neapolitan crib begun his inexorable decline, the great big cribs disappeared slowly and they preferred the smallest one, such to demonstrate that the Neapolitan shepherds, for their precious making, could exist even without the scenes that contributed to their fame all over the world.

The S. Gregori Armeno crib
The characteristic street of the poetic handicraft is Gregorio Armeno Road. This famous street, famous all over the world, was called the Nostriana stalls because the fifteenth archbishop of Naples built the poor thermal baths. But the street placed in the Augustan region, has also an important religious value because the Agnello archbishop Agnello built the first basilica at the inside of the town dedicated to San Gennaro.
The street has kept the vitality that still at the present it concerns. This is possible for the remarkables structures present during its history, but also because the connection street trhough the cntre of the ancient town ( an area were today there is S.Gaetano circus) with the principal arteries (San biagio dei Librai).a street walked in the past by every citizen of Naples.
To these and other reason cause dthe concentration of the artist activities. This was the cultural and artistic centre were in the past flourished the artist, painters, sculptors, silvermakers, glod makers, that with their acknowledged art made famous churches and buildings tht we can admire today. We talk about cultural Naples in fact s.Gregori Armeno is near S.biagio dei librai, where in a building with an entry in S.Gregorio Armeno Road, a librarian gave birth to Gian Battista Vico . walking, some stepa after S.Domenico Maaggiore, further a tablet remembers the Franceso De Sanctis House. In the near by we can found the Filomarino Palace, Benedetto Croce House. What attracts more tourists is the flourishing production of terracotta shepherds. And here there are the Ferrigno, giannotti, TheMaddaloni all of an ancient familiar production. The Association of Crib friend's was founded, than the Firm Care and survey of Naples had incouraged with prizes of money the cultural events, firstly increased the artistic handicraft. In these last years a major attention is due to them by the Neapolitan municipality, in December everything is a crib, a lot of visitors, schools from every part of the world crowd this street that seems to appear to the dream world.

Reference: from web