Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Painted Columns
Thirty of the nave's 44 columns
carry Crusader paintings of
saints, and the Virgin and Child,
although age and lighting condi-
tions make them hard to see. The
columns are of polished, pink lime-
stone, most of them reused from the
original 4th-century basilica.
VISITORS' CHECKLIST
Manger Square, Bethlehem.
Tel
(02) 274 2440.
l
#
summer:
6:30am-noon & 2-7:30pm
daily; winter: 5:30am-noon
& 2-5pm daily. Grottoes closed
Sun am.
7
.
Mosaic Floor
Trap doors in the
present floor, here
and to the left of
the altar, reveal
sections of mosaic
floor surviving
from the 4th-
century basilica.
Wall mosaics
, made in
the 1160s, once decorated
the entire church.
The narthex
was originally a
single, long porch with three
large doors leading into the
church and three onto the street.
Door of Humility
The Crusader doorway,
marked by a pointed arch,
was reduced to the present
tiny size in the Ottoman
period to prevent carts
being driven in by looters.
A massive lintel above the
arch indicates the door's
even larger original size.
ST JEROME
Born at Stribo (not far
from Venice), St
Jerome (c.342-420)
was one of the most
learned scholars of
the early Christian
Church. He travelled
widely and, in 384,
settled in Bethlehem,
where he founded a
monastery. Here, he
completed a new ver-
sion of the Bible
(see p24)
, inspired by the pope's suggestion that a
single book should replace the many differing texts in circulation.
His great work later became known as the Vulgate. Tradition
places the saint's study and tomb next to the Grotto of the Nativity.
STAR FEATURES
.
Grotto of the Nativity
St Jerome Writing
(c.1604) by Caravaggio
. Mosaic Floor
.
Door of Humility
