‘Christmas Journey’ At Knights

Of Columbus Museum Offers Nativities From Across Italy

NEW HAVEN — The Knights of Columbus Museum this season invites visitors of all ages to travel on “A Christmas Journey Around Italy,” right in New Haven.

The museum began its holiday season show on November 1 with its third, distinct exhibition of crèches, or Nativity scenes.

The museum’s 2005 holiday exhibition, “Christmas in Miniature,” featured crèches from around the world. Last year’s collection, “A Vatican Christmas,” showcased the magnificent studies that were used to create the colossal crèches in St Peter’s Square and the Vatican palaces.

The world-famous Italian crèches in this year’s show are renowned for their splendid workmanship and quality. The exhibition includes 17 carefully chosen items from among the best and largest crèches from across Italy, with beautifully created figures, structures, and details in each diorama. Five Italian artisans and two designers took care of the detailed process of installing the exhibition. The collection is on view until February 3.

The dioramas, ranging in size from two feet wide to more than 13 feet wide and 11½ feet deep, are from throughout Italy (Rome, Venice, Naples, Sicily, and the Alps). On loan courtesy of Rome’s Museo Internazionale del Presepio and the Associazione Italiana Amici del Presepio, the crèches have never before been displayed in the United States.

Among the most spectacular is a massive, 18th Century Neapolitan crèche, requiring considerable time for viewers to study and appreciate.

Crèches created in the Naples region have earned the reputation as the finest in Italy. Visitors will marvel at their rich furnishings, fittings, and accessories. Colored wax is shaped into miniature fruits and vegetables and reproductions of the famous Capodimonte ceramics.

In many crèches, the artists use material common to the region. For example, the Sicilian crèche features clay, stone, wood, red terra cotta and black lava stone from the island’s Mount Etna volcano.

Since December 1, the museum’s annual Christmas Tree Festival has featured handmade ornaments and decorations created by regional schoolchildren. Visitors are invited to cast ballots for their favorite tree.

In addition to the Knights of Columbus Museum’s permanent collection and “A Christmas Journey: Nativities from across Italy,” also on exhibition are “The Swiss Guard: Celebrating 500 years of Papal Service,” on view until February 3, which offers armor, weaponry, uniforms, and documents of the world’s oldest security force; and “Crosses and Crucifixes.”

The award-winning Knights of Columbus Museum hosts some of the country’s most impressive exhibits of religious art and history while telling the story of the Knights of Columbus through its permanent displays. It was ranked by USA Today as one of the “10 great places to explore religion in artistic detail.”

Permanent displays at the Knights of Columbus Museum include personal effects of the founder of the Knights of Columbus, whose cause for sainthood is under active consideration by the Vatican; “The Wall of History,” which chronicles the birth, growth, and highlights of the organization; The Papal Gallery, which displays a history of the papacy during the 125-year existence of the Knights of Columbus; and The Christopher Columbus Gallery, which includes artwork, history, and artifacts associated with the explorer’s discovery of America.

The Knights of Columbus Museum is located off I-91 and I-95 at 1 State Street in New Haven. It is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, and Sundays from 11 am to 5 pm. Admission and parking are free.

For additional information, call 203-865-0400, send e-mail to museum@KofC.org or visit kofc.org/museum.