L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 3 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Neapolitan Nativity scene to be showcased at Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood on Dec. 8. "Inspired by the request of Pope Francis to "wear the face of mercy" during the Holy Year, we offer visitors the opportunity to experience the enormous power and capacity for forgiveness of God through worship, service and art," said Monsignor Sakano dur- ing the press conference held in Naples. "Nativity of Mercy" is the s c e n e ' s p r o j e c t t i t l e a n d t h e N e a p o l i t a n A r t L a b " L a Scarabattola" will be in charge of its realization. S a l v a t o r e , E m a n u e l e a n d Raffaello Scuotto opened the studio's door in 1996. Since then, they have received world- wide attention. Their biggest cultural success was probably being selected as the official supplier of 147 figures by The Royal Palace of Madrid. These characters are now integrated with the precious eighteen-cen- tury collection of the Spanish family. "The Scarabattola's artists realize the Nativity scene with unrivaled technical skills and passion. Their pastors embody a e s t h e t i c a l l y t h e N e a p o l i t a n soul, while inspiring children and adults to contemplate about t h e m e a n i n g o f l i f e , " s a y s Project Manager Thomas Smith during the press conference. With great pleasure, I had the c h a n c e t o i n t e r v i e w t h e Scuottos' to get more insights on "Nativity of Mercy." It is clear that Mercy repre- s e n t s t h e c e n t r a l m e s s a g e b e h i n d t h e s c e n e . S a l v a t o r e Scuotto sends me an email from Naples writing "[…] among the staged characters, appear those o f T h e P r o d i g a l S o n b y Rembrandt and The Seven Acts of Mercy by Caravaggio." Salvatore Scuotto goes on describing how "Nativity of Mercy" will be three-dimen- sional, thanks to the eighteen- c e n t u r y t e c h n i q u e s u s e d o f mounting terracotta on wire and tow, making eyes out of glass, using cloth clothes and recreat- ing the design set with wood, cork and wax inserts. "In regard to this, a further t h a n k y o u g o e s t o B i a g i o Roscigno, production designer, who reconstructed existing city environments," writes Salvatore Scuotto. C h a t t i n g o v e r W h a t s A p p with Emanuele Scuotto, cur- rently in the States, I am excited to discover this presepe napole- tano is going to be the biggest (in dimensions) ever showcased i n t h e n a t i o n . " N a t i v i t y o f Mercy" is going to be about 10x7 feet wide and 7 feet high, he writes. This is impressive, but there is more. Answering my question on what differentiates their work f r o m o t h e r S a n G r e g o r i o Armeno's masters, Salvatore Scuotto writes "[…] it is the way we consider tradition as a necessary element to innovation […] We believe that our Lab has been chosen as a result of our almost 20 years researches, which are not limited to a ster- ile copy of the '700 Neapolitan Nativity scene." The Scuottos' proved their uniqueness delivering a very i m p o r t a n t m e s s a g e t h r o u g h "Nativity of Mercy." Beside the c l a s s i c R e m b r a n d t a n d Caravaggio scenes, there is a particular one that represents a boat full of children hugged by the fisherman. S a l v a t o r e S c u o t t o w r i t e s how much they care about this specific one. "[…] We wanted to raise awareness among the American people in regard to the current immigration and hospitality drama. Welcome is perhaps the most important act of Mercy in our time. Racial and religious differences tend to divide us, instead of remind- ing that diversity is wealth." Looking at the legend and t r a d i t i o n o f t h e N e a p o l i t a n Nativity scene, this has always been a powerful tool to deliver m e a n i n g f u l m e s s a g e s t o t h e world and the Scuottos' nailed it. Continued from page 1 Salvatore Scuotto at work

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