The Neapolitan nativity scene in the Museo Salzillo

This belén is a total contrast to the Salzillo belén and is well worth a visit

Spanish noble families have been building monumental beléns for centuries, and the Museo Salzillo in Murcia City has two completely different large-scale beléns on show, one by the master sculptor himself and this second belén which was acquired for the museum in 2014.

The Neapolitan nativity scene was collected over decades by Carmelo and Emilio García de Castro, and was acquired for the museum by the Fundación San Antonio for an undisclosed sum.

The 18th century collection is considered to be one of the finest of its type in the world, along with those belonging to the March Foundation in Palma de Mallorca, the Certosa di San Martino in Naples and the national museum of Bavaria in Munich. The pieces in the collection are large and remarkable for their technical perfection and realism as well as the quality of the materials used, and the same is true of the scenery in which they are displayed, which is a combination of biblical and 18th century elements.

The belén is characterful and ebullient in its detail, full of larger than life characters and personality, and crammed full of detail.

Gnarled fruit sellers and impoverished beggars compete for space with plump merchants, luscious displays of fat fish and lavishly robed Kings, colour popping out of every centimetre and a new detail calling for attention no matter where the eye lands.

Although this scene hangs together as one, the figures have been gathered from a number of sources, including the Borbón Royal Family and the personal collection of Carlos III, and others created by the Neapolitan master Giuseppe Sanmartino are also included.

The belén can be viewed as part of a visit to the Salzillo Musuem.

Click for further information Museo Salzillo Murcia.