Christmas in the Cinque Terre and La Spezia comes when the magnificent Manarola Nativity lights up. It represents the crib with peasant and shepherd silhouettes made of recyclable materials, lit by 17,000 colored light bulbs and 7 km of electric cable on the typical dry walls terraces of Manarola. The great poor artwork takes the entire hill in the background of the Manarola village, covered with vineyards, up to its summit, where is the hut with the comet.
A TRULY EXTRAORDINARY SCENOGRAFIC EFFECT.
Thursday, December 8th, the spectacular lighting takes place; as usual, many people come to Manarola to see the emotional spectacle of the crib that comes to life at the first nightfall in the unique natural scenery of the Cinque Terre with thousands of glows lighting up.
The nativity scene has been designed and built every year since 1962. Mario Andreoli, a retired railroad man from Manarola, conceived it.
It started when Mario’s father was about to die and asked him to restore a cross at the top of the family hill. Once Mario fixed the cross, he imagined illuminating it with a car battery. From this little light, he got the idea to bring the town together around a small but significant undertaking, a big “presepe” (nativity) built on the village hill. In Manarola today, everyone works on building the crib, contributing to its beauty.
In 2007, the creation obtained the Guinness Record Prize as the largest crib in the world.
The Manarola Nativity 2022 marks the 60th birthday of the giant artwork. Mario turned 94 years in February and continues to supervise his work with the support of the local association created to give continuity and support this creation. Today, 250 life-size figures made with recycled materials, illuminated by thousands of light bulbs, make up the Manarola nativity scene.
You can admire the Manarola crib every night until January 30th, 2022.