Given that the performance of sacred dramas was forbidden at that time, St. Francis celebrated a mass in a cave, bringing a manger with a donkey and ox beside it.
It was the first living nativity scene.
The first nativity scene with statues dates back to 1283 and is the work of Arnolfo di Cambio. The sculptural work consists of four marble groups representing the Virgin and Child, St. Joseph and the Three Wise Men, the donkey and the ox.
