According to the Bible, the Three Kings were guided to Jesus by a shining star.
Here we have two different uses of da beside each other. I wonder if an alternative translation could be "… the Three Kings were guided by Jesus to a shining star”.
I am not sure that you can say “a” instead of “da” if you want to indicate the direction to a person. We probably all know the “dal dentista” example.
But another thing is interesting here:
According to the bible these persons were neither three nor kings, but magicians (and no number given). Magicians and astrologers are much likelier to follow a star than kings, so it is plausible,
They became kings only a few hundred years later in christian writing and folklore.
So their Italian name is at least halfway right, whereas the English name is just as wrong as the German.
Does someone know how these “magi” are called in other languages?
In Italy the children get presents on “holy three kings day” from the witch Befana … another not exactly biblical person.
I think in darker days there was even a “Befana fascista”, so in all times people used these stories for their own ends.