Nativity
Summary
The Nativity depicts the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. According to the Gospels, Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem for the census ordered by Caesar Augustus. Finding no room at the inn, Mary gave birth to Jesus in humble circumstances and laid him in a manger. The birth was announced to shepherds by angels, and they came to worship the newborn.
Biblical Reference
Book(s): Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew
Chapters/Verses: Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 1:18-25
Artworks Depicting This Story
Nativity Sculptures Self-researched
A group of 13th-century marble sculptures depicting the Nativity scene, originally part of a larger sculptural ensemble for the Oratory of the Nativity (Presepe). The figures include the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the ox, the ass, and the Magi. They are among the earliest known freestanding Nativity sculptural groups and are now displayed in the underground museum chapel of the basilica.