Jesus Gets Jungle Fever
The jungle may be the last place you would expect to find Jesus, but in the world of Florida roadside distractions, anything goes. Jesus has been popping up along Florida's fruity trails for decades. He has managed to manifest himself in Sunken Gardens, Silver Springs, Masterpiece Gardens, The Holy Land Experience and in a quiet corner of Sarasota Jungle Gardens. The later entry may not be on as grandiose scale as some of the others, however the appearance of Christ anywhere should never go ignored.
On a little bend of the jungle trail in the zoological park sits the Gardens of Christ. It is a series of eight windows and behind each is a scene depicting events in the life of Jesus. As dinky and shabby as they may seem at first glance, the dioramas took five years and one trip to the Holy Land before being completed in 1967.
The figurines, carved from balsa wood, were the work of Italian born Vincent Maldarelli. Upon following through with his creative inspiration, he went to California on the sixth year and rested - for good. The dioramas would lay in storage in St. Augustine until 1974 when his sister resurrected them. She contacted Sarasota Jungle Gardens (first place anyone would think to call) which put them on display in 1975.
The Gardens of Christ |
