Can I Buy Fontanini pieces for less in Italy?
 

I collect the Fontanini figurines for my Christmas stable. I will be going to Rome, Florence and Venice in March. Has anyone seen them over there, and can they be bought for less than here in the U.S.? Thank you, Kathy

Hi, in the streets between the entrance to the Vatican museums and St. Peter's Basilica, there are numerous stores selling religious items. We bought Nativity pieces there, at a good price but it pays to shop around.

Like most things, it depends on where you look. A woman in my group bought some 5" figures in Florence for less than in the U.S. - how much less, I don't know, but it was worth it to her to pack them and bring them back. We brought a larger 12" set from a little shop near the duomo in a small town in Umbria and paid about half of what the same pieces would cost in the U.S. The one shop I looked at in Rome had comparable prices to the U.S.

For the past several years I have bought 20 of the larger Fontanini figures for 10 euros apiece in Rome at the Christmas Market in Piazza Navona. I now have a collection including the Holy Family, the Wise Men and shepherds and animals. That price is much cheaper than I have seen in the US.

The market also has a hugh number of the smaller figures- all the townspeople, animals and any thing you can imagine for very reasonable prices. You will just have to go to Rome any time from Nov. 30- Dec. 25.
Also there is a display of 100 Presipios(Nativity scenes)of all sizes and from many different countries in a building at the Piazza del Popolo.

Instead of Christmas trees the main decoration at churches, businesses and homes are the Nativity scenes.

I am very interested in getting at least the beginning of a Nativity set. Are these figurines readily available year-round? Are there any brands to know besides Fontanini? Can anyone recommend a shop or an area in either Rome or Florence?

Thanks for your help.

I think the presepio pieces are more a specialty of Naples. Maybe you can get more variety, and a better price, there. Oddly enough, I've heard that Cremona is also a center for making these items, I assume in a different style.

Fontanini is located in the province of Lucca, near Florence. The company has a Web site (as far as I can tell, only functioning in Italian), but you could try to use their e-mail address to obtain a list of the places in Florence and Rome that sell their nativity figures:

[email protected]

One place near St. Peter's in Rome is a licensed distributor. This is their Web site:

http://www.pellegrinocattolico.com/

But as one of the earlier posters pointed out, prices in Rome were pretty close to those in the U.S. If Fontanini replies to your inquiry with an address in Florence, you might do better there.