Christmas in St. Peter's
Square this year has a particularly southern Italian flavor with a
towering tree from the Molise region and a Nativity scene donated by the
Basilicata region.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph will be nestled in an
artistic re-creation of the picturesque rocky setting of Matera's famed
"sassi" -- a U.N. World Heritage site and backdrop for recent Hollywood
films about the Holy Family and Jesus.
The 78-foot silver fir was
plucked out of the forests of Isernia by helicopter Dec. 5 and trucked
120 miles north with an Italian police escort.
The tree arrived in the
square in the pre-dawn hours Dec. 6, the feast of St. Nicholas, patron
saint of children and source of the Santa Claus character.
Vatican
workers will spend several days decorating the tree with lights and gold
and silver balls before the official lighting of the tree Dec. 14.
The
large Nativity scene in the square will remain shrouded in mystery until
its official unveiling Christmas Eve.
The scene, which will be
assembled by Vatican personnel, will be decorated with more than 100
terracotta figures and detailed scenery crafted by the Italian artist
Francesco Artese; his enormous "presepi" have been on display in New
York City and Washington, D.C.
The Nativity scene, which will cover 180
square yards, will depict Matera's famed "sassi" -- cliff-clinging
churches, buildings, streets and grottos carved out of the mountainside.