AN OLDER NATIVITY SCENE

Writing about the crib inside the Church of Santa Maria di Betlem yesterday, I was reminded that you can see another nativity scene along one of the exterior walls of the church.  This is the lunetta del Berlon, so called because it was originally part of the Church of Santa Maria di Berlon, one of four churches which the larger Santa Maria di Betlem replaced. The lunette dates from the fifteenth or sixteenth century and was sculpted by unknown local craftsmen.