Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Walk down the narrow lane of San Gregorio Armeno in Naples’ historic center at any time of year and you’ll find yourself surrounded by shepherds, angels and entire miniature villages rendered in terra-cotta, wood and wax. For nearly 300 years, this street has been at the heart of Neapolitan Nativity art, a tradition that traces back to the 1700s and the court of King Carlo III di Borbone. Unlike the largely religious Nativity scene introduced by St. Francis of Assisi centuries earlier, the Neapolitan version weaves in scenes of everyday life: fishmongers, musicians, and market vendors living and working just down the road from the Holy Family. Generations of maestri have handed the craft down within their own families, filling workshops with figures that double as a folk record of the city itself.
That unbroken line is now at risk. Fewer young Neapolitans are choosing to learn the trade, and the artisan families of San Gregorio Armeno report growing difficulty finding apprentices willing to commit to the years of practice the craft demands. Without new hands to carry it forward, one of Italy’s most recognizable folk arts could fade within a generation, taking with it techniques for shaping terra-cotta faces, layering cork and moss into believable streetscapes, and hand-painting expressions no machine has ever replicated.
The National Italian American Foundation is helping write a different ending. On June 28, 2023, then-NIAF Chairman Bob Carlucci signed an agreement at Naples City Hall with Mayor Gaetano Manfredi to conserve and promote Neapolitan culture within the Italian-American community, with U.S. Consul General to Naples Tracy Roberts-Pounds and an NIAF board delegation on hand. That agreement laid the groundwork for a coalition now working toward a shared goal: NIAF, the City of Naples, the CON IL SUD Foundation, L’Altra Napoli Association, Le Botteghe di San Gregorio Armeno Association and the Manallart Cooperative have joined forces to raise funds for the Academy of Neapolitan Nativity Art, a planned training center in the San Gregorio Armeno district.
Once open, the academy’s mission will have three parts. First, it will train young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds in woodworking, sculpture, painting and other skills used to build a Neapolitan presepe, pairing them with master artisans who will serve as instructors. Second, it will place graduates in paid roles in the historic shops of San Gregorio Armeno. Third, it will house an exhibition space open to visitors and tourists, turning the academy into both a working school and a destination that keeps the craft visible to the wider world. Students will also lead workshops for enthusiasts and sell their own pieces, a source of revenue meant to help sustain the program over time. The Archdiocese of Naples has pointed to the model as a meaningful alternative to delinquency for youth who might otherwise have little direction or purpose.
The project distinguishes between two groups it aims to serve. Local youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom have already left the formal school system, will receive training and job placement free of charge, with the explicit goal of generating economic opportunity in a part of Naples where it has long been scarce. A second group, made up of private hobbyists and tourists drawn to the tradition, will pay for shorter courses once the Academy is operating. Those fees will help support the program’s ongoing costs, thus reducing the burden of relying solely on donations year after year.
This is the type of work NIAF was built to support: strengthening ties between Italy and the United States while helping preserve a living piece of Italian culture and heritage in America and abroad. The Neapolitan presepe has shaped how generations of Italian Americans picture the holiday season, often through a family Nativity scene handed down for decades or a grandparent’s memory of a childhood visit to San Gregorio Armeno. Supporting this academy means keeping that experience possible for families still to come.
NIAF’s role extends beyond direct support for the Academy. Because the Foundation holds special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, NIAF is also positioned to assist the city of Naples in a related effort: pursuing recognition of Neapolitan Nativity art on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. That designation, reserved for living traditions and craftsmanship rather than physical monuments, would mark a meaningful step toward protecting the practice and raising its international profile for artisans not yet trained.
NIAF launched its U.S. fundraising campaign for the Academy in December 2023. “Preserving the best of Italian traditions aligns fully with NIAF’s mission,” NIAF President Robert Allegrini said at the time. “The quality of this proposal, and reputation of the organizations involved, convinced us to spearhead U.S. fundraising efforts. We are honored to rally support from Americans nationwide to make the Nativity Academy a reality.”
That effort is still underway. The campaign has not yet reached its fundraising goal. Every gift moves the project closer to breaking ground and, with it, closer to the day a new class of apprentices walks into San Gregorio Armeno to begin learning a craft that has waited three centuries for them.
Support the future of Nativity art!
We invite you to be a part of preserving this iconic symbol of Italian heritage that brings joy to millions. Help us establish the Academy of Neapolitan Nativity Art to tutor aspiring artists and uplift disadvantaged youth. With your gift, you honor a community legacy through healing young lives and shaping creative minds. NIAF thanks you for empowering this cultural preservation cause.
To donate, click here.
The above article appears in the December 2026 issue of the print version of Fra Noi. Our gorgeous, monthly magazine contains a veritable feast of news and views, profiles and features, entertainment and culture.
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