The news likely had many shaking their heads in dismay; criminals had struck yet again in the southern Italian city of Naples. This time, though, it wasn't the local mafia knocking off a rival. It was a highly professional robbery which saw 300 antique shepherd figurines nabbed from the nativity scene in the Chiesa di San Nicola alla Carita church in the heart of old-town Naples.

Just who was behind the Monday morning theft remains unclear. It is obvious, however, that experts were at work. Of the hundreds of figures that went missing, only those of Jesus, a sleeping donkey and a couple of sheep were left behind -- while not a single one of the much more valuable shepherds was forgotten. In total, the thieves made off with €1 million worth of nativity collectables. Prior to the break-in, the criminals managed to shut off the church's alarm systems and use a welding torch to cut through the locked gate.

Still, despite the brash theft, Naples has made great strides in bringing criminality under control recently. After making headlines the world over in early November after a series of brazen murders carried out by the Camorra  -- as the mafia in Naples is known -- the city has made fighting the mob a priority. As of last Friday, police had arrested 1,300 people suspected of mafia ties since the beginning of November, an average of 30 per day. The police itself has been reinforced by 154 new officers and officials managed to impound millions last week from a local arm of the Camorra. In 2007, the city is set to be outfitted with more video cameras than any other city in Italy.

It is also the city in Italy with the most passion for nativity scenes and the streets of the old town are jammed with craftsmen selling their handmade manger figurines. The first depiction of the birth of Jesus was assembled, according to Neapolitans, in 1025 in the Chiesa di S. Maria del Presepe in the center of town.

Just when the first nativity scene was plundered in the city remains a mystery.