CAVE'S GIGANTIC NATIVITY GROUP
A visit to see the Monumental Nativity in the town of Cave (Lazio) makes a fitting conclusion to the long Christmas season. The towering figures of the Holy Family, along with the Three Kings that symbolize Epiphany, are set up in the pillared vaults of a former 11th century Benedictine monastery in the small Lazio town some 40 kms from Rome.
The 4m-high sculptures are the work of local artist Lorenzo Ferri, who died in 1975, and whose life and work are celebrated in a monographic museum in the historic centre, reached by a bridge spanning the ravine that separates the historic old town and from the new part.
The Nativity figures were commissioned by the Pallottine Order for the Church of Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome in 1947. Ferri made the nine gesso models in the projected size within the following year. The “Indian King” kneeling before the Holy Family group, has his own facial portrait, while his son Sirio posed for St. Joseph and boxing champion Erminio Spalle was the model for the “Assyrian King”. However, the statues were never cast in bronze as originally commissioned, due to financial problems.
The sculptor's family donated the Nativity, along with a large number of his works of art, including sculptures, paintings and studies to the town, which are on display in separate premises in the “new town”. The Museo Lorenzo Ferri celebrates its tenth anniversary in December 2023.
M. STENHOUSE
Info: Tel.+39.06.9507310 www.Facebook.com/MuseoLorenzoFerro