The nativity crèche (Italian: presepe, or less common presepio) is a representation of the Nativity of Jesus, an initially Italian custom spread over time in all Catholic countries in the world. The tradition of the nativity scene originated exactly eight centuries ago with Saint Francis of Assisi, who in 1223 made the first representation of the Nativity in Greccio, a small village in Lazio, inspired by his visit to the Holy Land, where he had been shown Jesus’s traditional birthplace. The iconography of the crèche, on the impulse of what St. Francis had done, in a short time passed from the purely artistic sphere to the popular one, especially within the churches, and still today is an inevitable Christmas custom carried out in the homes of Italian families together with the Christmas tree.
In Italy, many regions boast their tradition, linked to the setting or the type of materials used, and there’s no lack of Sicily in this list, where among the most beautiful nativity scenes to see there are those of Caltagirone. In the town part of UNESCO Heritage mostly famous for the production of ceramic, there are small (and great) works of art, which from the union of tradition and artisan skill have been able to create their own distinctive trait. Not only one nativity scene, but many and of different types. A collection that is enriched year after year and is located in different locations of the town.
Thanks to the love for the art of crèche, the Iatrino family carries out with care and dedication a tradition that began decades ago. It was Maestro Maurizio, the current president of the cultural association that deals with the care of the nativity scene, who started without knowing this beautiful tradition of Caltagirone by creating his first crèche at the age of six. Today, after more than 50 years, he continues to create preciousness with the same boyish spirit that pushed him to invest the first earnings as a child in statuettes rather than in toys.
Visiting the nativity scenes of Caltagirone is an experience that immerses you in magic, with the awareness that everything you admire is entirely handmade, with effort and dedication. We remain kidnapped by the animated nativity scene in terracotta and fabric and the cotton crèche with animations enriched by effects in optical fibers and particular scenes, such as the snow effect and the aquarium effect.
It is possible to admire a crèche of the highest artistic value both for the size of the subjects and for the animation made in a stable of the 1700s. It represents “The birth of Jesus”, and it is a nativity scene with human-size statues that move in a precise sequence. The animation is very accurate and is an aspect that adds value: they are not electronic movements, but mechanical, just like those of a clock.
All the characters of the Caltagirone’s crèches are made entirely by hand with painstaking work by the artists to ensure that each statuette is a unique piece, treated in every detail and with great attention to expressiveness and realism in the movements. In the terracotta and fabric nativity scene, for example, in the many scenes represented, there are a woman who washes the clothes in the river, a baker who churns out bread, or the farmer who takes care of his animals and another one drinking from a fountain.
The Caltagirone’s crèches, however, do not end there. In addition to the more traditional ones, you can admire other very original and particular small goodies. For example, you can see a nativity scene made with polystyrene, the one in plexiglass, the one made with bread or the one made entirely with pasta. Yes, with the pasta that we all have in the kitchen, only that rigatone on rigatone, a nativity scene was born here. Then there are the Neapolitan nativity scene, the Sicilian one, the Sardinian one, one in aluminum, the origami crèche, one made with lava stone and terracotta, the smallest crèche in the world visible only with the magnifying glass, the salt crèche and one made with 100,000 pieces of Lego. And to celebrate the eighth centenary of the first nativity scene made by Saint Francis, there’s also a crèche with the friars in adoration.
The collection of mini crèches is also very particular, always treated in every detail, such as the one inside the model of an old Fiat 500 or the one inside a loaf of bread. Inside the same exhibition space with the mini crèches, there’s another equally very particular nativity scene. It is a tactile nativity scene designed for people with vision impairment, created with materials that through touch manage to distinguish the human forms and the expressions of the characters. But the collection does not end there. Many unique pieces can be admired in Caltagirone and amid the crèches you will also find a small collection of “Little Jesus”, including one dating back to the early 19th century and made of wood.
In short, there’s really for all tastes. And the best part is that you do not necessarily have to wait for Christmas time to admire the nativity scenes: upon request, Caltagirone’s crèches can be visited all year round.
