During Christmas, Florence is a spectacle of lights, trees and Christmas decorations. But there is another protagonist who deserves your attention during the holidays. It’s the nativity scenes! They are spread across different parts of the city and we have prepared a list of the main ones so that you don’t miss any of these wonders.
Duomo Square
During the Christmas period, the churchyard of the Florence Cathedral is set up with a nativity scene of life-size terracotta statues depicting the Holy Family. The statues of the Madonna, Saint Joseph and Baby Jesus are unique pieces made by hand, in the round, by the craftsman Luigi Mariani of the historic Impruneta furnace of Angiolo Mariani and sons, M.i.t.a.l., who wanted to donate them to the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore.
This type of sculpture is part of the ancient Florentine tradition of working with terracotta which, in the artistic field, was born in Florence at the beginning of the fifteenth century with the recovery of this ancient technique by Donatello and Brunelleschi.
The Nativity Scene is located on the opposite side of Giotto’s Bell Tower, near the large Christmas Tree of the city of Florence, where it will remain until the Epiphany, when, on the occasion of the traditional Cavalcade of the Magi, the terracotta figures of the Holy Family will be replaced by living people and animals making the installation even more evocative.
The 15 nativity scenes in Piazza Santa Croce
In the year of the eighth centenary of the first nativity scene, the Franciscan Community and the Opera of Santa Croce, together with the Italian Association of Friends of the Nativity Scene, propose an evocative Christmas story through fifteen nativity scenes in the various altars of the Basilica.
A large wooden nativity scene, sculpted by Roberto Giovannone, is placed in the area of the main altar, while another artist, Giancarlo Bonechi, has prepared some glazed ceramic tiles. On display there are some nativity scenes with classic Italian folk figures, nativity scenes set in Palestine, a Sicilian nativity scene, others made with natural materials.
The exhibition will be open until January 6, 2024.
Artistic Nativity Scene at Bassi in District 4
Out of the center, this nativity scene is so worth the visit! It is made up of over sixty moving characters who mark the alternation of day and night through their work, accompanied by a narrator who explains what is happening, masterfully interspersed with direct dialogues between the various characters. Every year the scenario is improved with new subjects and scenography. Until January 7, 2024.
The tradition of the nativity scene
The tradition of the nativity scene in Italy is antique, dates back to the one staged by Saint Francis of Assisi on the Christmas Day of 1223, in the small town of Greccio (near Rieti). Three years earlier, in 1220, Saint Francis made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to visit the birthplace of Jesus Christ, and was so impressed by Bethlehem that, upon returning to Italy, he asked Pope Honorius III to be allowed to leave the convent of Greccio to perform the representation of the nativity scene.
It was also Saint Francis who set up the first nativity scene in history, in a cave close by the city. It was composed by the manger with the straw, the ox and the donkey only; Virgen Mary, Joseph and Jesus were not part of it. The population attended in large numbers and so the saint was able to narrate the story of Jesus’ birth to everyone present.
From then on, the nativity scene became a popular tradition that spread widely throughout central Italy and Roman Emilia. It arrived than in Napoles, during the 15th century, and in the following decades it also gained a place in noble houses, as an ornament or a miniature chapel. Particularly in Naples, the nativity scene reached original and highly sought-after levels of expression, becoming a source of pride for families competing to have the most sumptuous nativity scene: the nobles spared no expense and dedicated entire rooms in their residences to the nativity scene for display them at receptions and private parties.
Ironically, the nativity scene, born as an instrument of communication with the population, only entered public housing after finding a place in churches and noble residences. In fact, during the 18th and 19th centuries, the tradition of the nativity scene gained the central place in the homes of ordinary people, tradition that goes on until nowadays.