Editing Greccio (section)

==History==
[[File:Giotto - Legend of St Francis - -13- - Institution of the Crib at Greccio.jpg|thumb|left|''St. Francis at Greccio'' by [[Giotto]], 1295]]
[[File:Our hotel (appropriately Italian looking!) (3543814566).jpg|thumb|left|View of the town]]

Modern Greccio, which is of medieval origin, was founded on lands of [[ancient Greek colonization]], in a place where there was,<ref name="e-borghi"/> in ancient times, a colony founded by colonists from [[Magna Graecia]].<ref name="comune.greccio">{{cite web|url=https://comune.greccio.ri.it/contenuti/45621/borgo-medievale-greccio|title=BORGO MEDIEVALE di GRECCIO|access-date=9 January 2024|language=it}}</ref> They had fled or were exiled from their homeland as a result of war.<ref name="wantedinrome"/>

The earliest records of Greccio date back to the 10th and 11th centuries with the name of "''curtis de Greze''".<ref name="comune.greccio"/> The Benedictine Monk, Gregory of Catino (1062–1133) refers to the town of "''Grecciae''" in his work "''Summary Farfense''".<ref name="e-borghi">{{cite web|url=https://www.e-borghi.com/it/itinerari/633/il-borgo-di-greccio-che-ogni-anno-ritorna-al-1223.html|title=Il borgo di Greccio, che ogni anno ritorna al 1223|access-date=11 January 2024|language=it}}</ref> From the remains of the ancient buildings, it shows that Greccio became a fortified medieval castle surrounded by walls and protected by a six towers fortress.<ref name="comune.greccio"/>

In documents from the 11th century, the toponym of Greccio is cited with many variations, until 1091, when the name "''Grecciae''", from which the current name derives, seems to spread; the community also experiences a fair amount of development, favored by the abundance of flat arable land and good pastures.<ref name="e-borghi"/>

During the struggle with neighboring cities, the castle was destroyed in 1242 by the troops of Frederick II.<ref name="comune.greccio"/> They had a difficult history until 1799 when the town was destroyed and looted by the Napoleonic army.<ref name="comune.greccio"/> The town was called for the first time with its current name "Greccio" around 1720.<ref name="comune.greccio"/>
[[File:Greccio la piazza principale.jpg|thumb|Main piazza in Greccio]]

Greccio was the place where, in December 1223, [[Saint Francis of Assisi]] devised the first living [[Nativity scene]] (in Italian: ''presepe'').  Francis' 1223 living nativity scene is commemorated on the calendars of the Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican liturgical calendars,<ref name="Matheson2012"/><ref name="Dues">Dues, Greg.''Catholic Customs and Traditions: A Popular Guide'' Twenty-Third Publications, 2000.</ref><ref name="Thomas">Thomas, George F.. ''Vitality of the Christian Tradition''. Ayer Co. Publishing, 1944.</ref><ref name="#MyLivingNativity">{{Cite web|url=http://mylivingnativity.org|title=#MyLivingNativity|website=Upper Room Books|language=en-us|access-date=2018-10-31|archive-date=2021-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107122421/https://upperroombooks.com/mylivingnativity/|url-status=live}}</ref> and its creation<ref name="Matheson2012">{{cite book |last1=Matheson |first1=Lister M. |title=Icons of the Middle Ages: Rulers, Writers, Rebels, and Saints |date=2012 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-34080-2 |page=324 |language=English |quote=He was responsible for staging the first living Nativity scene or creche, in Christian history; and he was also Christianity's first stigmatic. He shares the honor of being patron saint of Italy with Saint Catherine of Siena. His feast day is celbrated on October 4, the day of his death; many churches, including the Anglican, Lutheran, and Episcopal churches, commemorate this with the blessing of the animals.}}</ref> is described by [[Bonaventure|Saint Bonaventure]] in his ''Life of Saint Francis of Assisi'' c. 1260.<ref>{{cite web|last=St. Bonaventure|title=The Life of St. Francis of Assisi|url=http://www.ecatholic2000.com/bonaventure/assisi/francis.shtml|work=e-Catholic 2000|access-date=28 September 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140614095831/http://www.ecatholic2000.com/bonaventure/assisi/francis.shtml|archive-date=14 June 2014}}</ref>

Saint Francis' manger scene is said to have been enacted at Christmas 1223 in a cave near the [[Sanctuary of Greccio]]. The very small chapel where it is said to have taken place survives.<ref name="santuario-francescano">{{cite web|url=https://comune.greccio.ri.it/contenuti/45625/santuario-francescano|title=SANTUARIO FRANCESCANO DEL PRESEPIO|access-date=9 January 2024|language=it}}</ref> The painting over its altar, and others before 1400, by [[Giotto]] at the Assisi Lower Church, and by [[Antonio Vite]] in [[Pistoia]], depict Saint Francis kneeling and placing a small baby into a chest-like manger. Giotto adds a miniature ox and [[asinus|ass]]. The Nativity scene tradition continues there to this day, and a memorial of Saint Francis, the Sanctuary of Greccio, may be visited.<ref name="viadifrancescolazio"/>