The Italian American Collection's 33 piece presepio was originally amassed by the Albini family of Vandergrift, Pa.. A tradition originating in 13th century Italy, a typical presepio consists of a manger scene surrounded by a miniature village reminiscent of the regional landscape. Though Neapolitan variations are the most well-known, the custom is prevalent in both Northern and Southern Italy and often utilizes materials native to those locales.
These buildings and figurines - some handmade, some store-bought - are a part of the Christmas presepio that decorated Albino Albini's home. A cabinet maker by trade, Albini was an immigrant from the Calabrese town of San Pietro in Guarano. He took great pride in his family's presepio and added a new piece every holiday season, much to the delight of his neighbors in Vandergrift that looked forward to the display year after year. For the Albini family and many other Italian Americans, the annual practice of displaying the presepio was as important as trimming the Christmas tree.
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Source: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh PA
