Occupying a special corner of the Iron Horse Inn in Granbury, TX is a striking example of a very old Christmas tradition from Naples, Italy - a hand-crafted "presepe" or manger scene. As luck would have it, we put up the presepe here at about the same time as a very impressive and beautiful exhibition of the art went up at Ft Worth's renown Kimbell Art Museum, (The exhibit is definitely worth a trip.) The Granbury B-and-B's presepe is very special to me because it was hand-made by my wife, and your Inn-keeper, Theresa, when I was posted at the U.S. Consulate in Naples, Italy. Theresa learned Italian well enough to study the ancient craft of the presepe with two masters, Neapolitan ladies who taught a handful of students at their kitchen table. Theresa spent literally scores of hours patiently sculpting the hands and faces of the figures of Mary, Joseph, the Christ child, and the three wise men, and sewing their silk outfits. Visitors to the Inn who've viewed the Kimbell exhibition have told us that Theresa's presepe is a worthy example of the art form. Besides being a heartfelt expression of the true spirit of Christmas, this piece of art is indicative of the love of the arts that Theresa wants to nurture with the various painting and quilting retreats and workshops that we're going to be offering here at the B-and-B beginning in January. We invite you all to come out to Granbury to our B-and-B, the Iron Horse Inn, during this Christmas season to check out Theresa's presepe! Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all!
No comments:
Post a Comment