Praesepivm is the great outdoor show of the nativity. A true colossal that involves a large part of the village and more than 300 characters.
The representation of the living nativity scene has been in place for more than 10 years and every two years offers more dates at the beginning of the Christmas holidays to end with the great show of the Epiphany on January 6th.
The scene is set in much of the historic center , creating a path that develops in the medieval part passing through alleys and squares where cellars and other characteristic places, already suggestive on their own, are decorated with poor materials , with a large care in reconstructing the details and respecting the traditions of the past . For the new edition 2024 – 2025 a new path has been redesigned, even more suggestive and full of new representations with over 300 characters.
The spaces in question are organized with impressive scenographic settings that create the atmosphere of an ancient world animated by local people and actors chosen among the citizens of the country: children, adults and elderly of the place, almost magically left at the time of the Nativity of Christ . The clothes they wear, in perfect harmony with time, are made with great care always by the hands of skilled volunteers from the town of Casole d’elsa.
The scenography is articulated in such a way as to represent as much as possible, what could have been the daily life of the characters of that historical period. Along the way there is an inn and craft shops where the typical crafts of the time are practiced such as spinning, coloring of wool, baking bread and more. In a medieval cloister the “Herod’s Castle” is represented. Outside there is the market square, a caravanserai for the rest of the wayfarers, and scattered everywhere soldiers, shepherds with their animals, farriers, lupanari, artists and other characters engaged in the most varied commitments.
The route is structured according to a logical scheme that ends at the Capanna della Natività. On the day of Epiphany the scenography is completed with the arrival of the Three Kings, on the back of the (real) camels, with the gifts for the Child Jesus. Nothing is left to chance: the animals are real, the merchandise is fresh goods, the furnishings carefully faithful to the period represented. The atmosphere of the environment is truly unique and is made particularly tormenting by the torch lighting, by the scents and aromas spread in the air and by the background music that accompanies the visitor along the entire route.
The Living Nativity of Casole d’Elsa has received national and international awards as the best living nativity scene in Italy and continues to amaze at every performance.
WHERE? IN CASOLE D’ELSA ( 1 KM FROM MONTI 1824)
WHEN? IN DECEMBER 2024 26th and 29th AT 15.00 UNTIL 19.00 and JANUARY 2025 1ST 4TH 5TH 6TH
