Nativity Scenes Collection Church of St Francis Evora

Nativity Scenes Collection (A Colecção de Presépios), Igreja de São Francisco, Evora

Canha da Silva collection of nativity scenes, Evora. — Canha da Silva collection of nativity scenes, Evora

The Canha da Silva collection of nativity scenes is housed in the upper galleries above the side chapels of the Igreja de São Francisco in Evora. The Igreja de São Francisco is more famous, of course, for its macabre Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones) on the floor below but the superb nativity scenes collected from all over Portugal and the rest of the world are well worth a visit.

Also on the upper floors of the church above the Capela dos Ossos is an interesting collection of mainly religious art. This includes works by painters such as Francisco João and António de Oliveira Bernardes, sculptures from the 16th to 18th centuries, church vestments, and gold jewelry, as well as a collection of ecclesiastical silver plate.

St Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene at Christmas in the village of Greccio in Italy in 1223. The practice of recreating the birth of Jesus Christ is now deeply rooted in Franciscan spirituality hoping to further the principles of love, peace and humility.

This nativity scene is in carved wood. — This nativity scene is in carved wood

History

The various nativity scenes are the private collection of Major-General Fernando Canha da Silva and his wife Fernanda Canha da Silva. The couple had a special affection for Christmas and nativity scenes. They began collecting examples of clay and cork nativity scenes from the Alentejo region and expanded to other regions of Portugal including the Algarve, the Azores and Madeira and also from overseas.

The nativity scenes on display include around 2600 examples. They comprise 6300 pieces from all over Portugal and from over 80 countries worldwide, some as far afield as Russia and Japan. The memorable Japanese exhibit features the figures as kokeshi dolls.

The huge collection is so large that only one quarter is on display at any one time. It found a permanent home in the church from 2015 after first being on display at the Church of Nossa Senhora da Graça in 1999.