Presepe and Fishing Nets on Island of S. Pietro di Castello

The Christmas season comes to a close tonight with the feast of the Epiphany and the visit of the witch La Befana to the houses of children throughout Venice. Tomorrow most of the Christmas decorations will come down, so I was glad I stumbled upon this particular window display tonight before it disappeared.

This being Venice, and this being the magazzino window of what seems to be one of the last working fisherman in the city, you'll find a few boats floating upon an aluminum foil sea in the foreground of the photo below, just behind the wise men gathered on the shore, and notice that the Holy Family has taken refuge from the elements not in the traditional manger but in the shelter of a sandolo turned upon its side.

And, naturally, instead of the star we usually hear so much about, you'll see in the upper left corner of the photo the bright beacon of a striped lighthouse summoning admirers to the newborn babe. Much more effective on a foggy night than any celestial light.