The presepio, derived from the Latin word presepium, meaning manger, has been the defacto symbol of Christmas for Italian families for dozens of generations, and in the South, perhaps as long as a thousand years. Of course, most Italians also have a modern Christmas tree, but the presepio in its simplest form is a tradition of  devotion representing the birth of the baby Jesus. These nativity scenes typically consist of a structure to represent the simple barn where Joseph and Mary were forced to give birth to the Son of God. An ox, donkey, angels and perhaps the three Wise Men are typically represented.

But the presepio is often much, much more, showing village scenes from every day life. Its components are mostly handmade from a variety of materials: wood, ceramic, cartapesta (Papier-mâché), terracotta and fabrics. Some scenes include small waterfalls or fountains, houses, buildings, mountains, trees, grottoes, livestock and vendors of all sorts. The details can be absolutely astounding.

There are some characters and elements that many deem essential to the tradition:

• Benino or Benito: In the Holy Scriptures this character represents the “sleeping people to whom the angels announce the coming of the Christ”. Originally represented by a sleeping shepherd, but can be any sleeping man.
• Benino, the shepherd often sleeps among 12 sheep, to stand for the 12 apostles or the twelve months of the year.
• Another figure is the Shepherd of Wonder, shown on his knees, with open arms in front of the Nativity. He is a symbol of admiration and childish amazement, free of sin, in the face of the miracle of birth and regeneration.
• The wine cellar and Cicci Bacco: the wine represents the blood of Christ, given to the people for their salvation, while Cicci Bacco is a representation of pagan divinities.
• The fisherman: Fish is the first symbol of the christians persecuted during the Roman empire. The character is a “fisherman of souls”.
• The Hunter, Both the fisherman and Hunter represent the two activities of human survival and the opposing Death and Life.
• The two comrades: Uncle Vincenzo and Uncle Pasquale represent Fat Tuesday and the Death, the two moments that open and close the period of commemoration of the death of Jesus before Easter time.
• The Three Wise Men: originally represented on the back of three different animals, the horse, the dromedary and the elephant, they symbolize Asia, Africa, and Europe, that find Baby Jesus after a long journey and honor him.
• Three female figures: 1) the Young Gypsy Woman with tattered clothes is able to predict the future. She is a sign of misfortune and pain yet to befall Jesus.                   2) Stefania is a young virgin who was blocked by angels forbidding unmarried women to visit Our Lady. Stefania swaddled a stone pretending it was her baby and after Jesus' birth, the stone sneezed and became a child--Saint Stephen, whose birthday is celebrated on December 26th. 3) La Lavandaia represents the midwives who discovered after washing the Child, spread out the clothes of childbirth, white because of virginal birth.
• In the Neapolitan presepio are found the Card Players "duie cumpare, zi' Vicienzo and zi 'Pascale", "The two cronies" are also nicknamed "the San Giovanni", with reference to the two solstices of December 24 and June 24.
• The Monk is often set in a desecrating manner, representing the irony between the sacred and the profane.
• The Harlot is a symbol of the carnal, as opposed to the purity of the Virgin. She is placed near the tavern, opposite to the Nativity.
• The months of the year are represented as follows:
  January butcher or grocer;
  February seller of ricotta and cheese;
  March poultry man and bird seller;
  April egg seller;
  May represented by a married couple carrying a basket of cherries and fruit;
  June baker or miller;
  July tomato seller;
  August seller of watermelons;
  September seller of figs;
  October vintner or hunter;
  November chestnut seller;
  December fishmonger or fisherman

In 1964, photographer Hope Herman Wurmfeld photographed everyday Italian scenes...  From the exhibit, Vintage: Italy 1964, at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò in New York.

On the Cinque Terre coast, the Voyager will come across il Gigante, the gigantic statue of Neptune in Monterosso on the beach near Fegina. Sculpted by the Arrigo Minerbi in 1910, he is over 40 feet tall and holds up part of the Villa Pastine. Neptune used to hold a trident and a giant clam shell above his shoulders that was used as a dance floor by the Villa. During World War II, Monterosso was bombed by allied forces, and the Neptune statue and the Villa suffered serious damage. A strong storm in 1966 damaged the statue even more.

Built in 1930 at Castellammare di Stabia, the Amerigo Vespucci is a full rigged three-masted steel hulled tall ship built in the the style of large late 18th century 74-cannon ships of the line. It is 331 feet long, including the bowsprit, with a beam of 51 ft. The tallest of her three masts is 178 feet tall. Her draft is 23 ft below the waterline with a displacement of 4146 tons. The ship is used as a training vessel by the Italian Navy and carries a crew of 16 officers, 70 non-commissioned officers and 190 sailors, but in summer the midshipmen of the Accademia Navale causes its crew to expand to 450. The ship was named for Amerigo Vespucci, who in the late 15th and early 16th centuries explored nearly the entire coastline of both North and South America, proving that Columbus didn't discover a route to Asia, but in fact came upon a "New World", and two new continents.