The Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin

The Nativity of the Virgin Mary

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September 8th, once a public holiday in Italy, marks the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. It is not known for certain why September 8th was chosen as the day of the feast. 

The 13th century mosaic Marian cycle in the apse of Santa Maria in Trastevere begins with the Nativity of the Virgin. The work of the Roman painter Pietro Cavallini (c. 1250 - c. 1330), it depicts an elegant interior in which, St Anne, Mary's mother, is half sitting up on a bed. 

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