This large-model Nativity set is most commonly found in churches, not homes. The donor’s father, Joseph Marchetti, worked as an artist for the Joseph Poli Company. Established in 1890 in Pittsburgh's Lower Hill District, the company specialized in decor for churches such as statuary, altars, railings, fonts, and sacramental robes. This Nativity set is currently on view in the A Very Merry Pittsburgh exhibition, open in the McGuinn Gallery through Dec. 31, 2023.

Joseph Marchetti gave this set to his son, Mark, and daughter-in-law in the 1980s and they displayed the figures in a handmade setting they constructed in their home every year at Christmastime. Joseph Marchetti and his father, Emil Marchetti, both worked at the Joseph Poli Company painting plaster statuary. Emil came to Pittsburgh from Lucca, Italy, which is also where the Poli family emigrated from.

Many local churches own Nativities manufactured by the Joseph Poli Company. From early summer through the fall they would make sets to sell for the upcoming holiday season; the donor could always tell the sets his father worked on by Mary's shoes, which he painted pink.