Caravaggio was born Michelangelo Merisi in Milan and came of
age in the nearby town of the name by which he became famous. Pugnacious and temperamental, he spent a fair
amount of his all-too-short life on the lam, running from the jailer or the assassin. He spent some time in Sicily late in his
short life of 38 years, and it was probably there in 1609 that he composed The Nativity . The painting found its way to a confraternity
hall in Palermo, the Oratorio di San Lorenzo, where it was on display until
1969 when it was stolen by the mafia, according to all evidence. It has never resurfaced, and is said to have
been destroyed. Recently, a faithful reproduction
of the painting was created and is now on display where the original hung.
R Balsamo
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