Home From The Mountains & 2 Sides to a Sampler

Brixen or Bressanone in the Sudtirol probably has one of the largest collections of Krippe. We might loosely term these as Cribs - and perhaps you have seen some of the European cribs at Christmas, where not only models of Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus, with angels, shepherds and magi are displayed, but also the whole population of what appears to be the local community - farmers, bakers, vintners, dairymaids etc. However, Krippe are not only for Christmas. The collection in Brixen/Bressanone Diocesan Museum includes populous displays for just about every biblical episode, not just the Nativity alone. The photo is of a detail of such a Krippe made in the early 1700s and you may be delighted to see two stitchers working on the same panel, perhaps a sampler, we can't be entirely sure.

My apologies for worrying you with my absence - thank you for all your thoughtful emails in my absence - it is never easy to get connections up in the Dolomites where we have been walking but I thought it would be nice to take a rest prior to my retirement at the end of this year.