Vico Equense, the nativity scene of Seiano turns 50

For half a century the crypt of the Church of San Marco in Seiano, a village of Vico Equense, during the Christmas period it transforms into the ideal home for the artistic nativity scene of local masters who reconstruct the methods and scenes of the eighteenth-century Neapolitan nativity scene tradition.

The entrance to the nativity scene is just a few steps from the main entrance of the church, where a small side entrance leads into an atmospheric underground environment to allow the visitor to fully immerse themselves in an environment separate from the real one and feel part of the eighteenth-century scene and the world surrounding the Nativity.

The nativity scene is made by tracing the structure of the church above: it is circular with seven scenes, instead of seven altars, in which the arts and crafts as well as images of everyday life are illustrated.

The main scene represents the hut with its fallen temple reminding the visitor of the end of paganism and the beginning of the Christian era, and the three wise men with their entourage. They are lively scenes, with figures captured in the midst of their activities: the tavern, the baker, the shoemaker, the dairy, the oil mill, the cellar and much more.

The nativity scene is set up by Gianfranco Cilento

The nativity scene has been set up by Gianfranco Cilento since the 1970s, initially with a group of young people from Catholic Action, then with various people from the village, including today Antonino Leone and Enzo Savarese: the scenes are designed taking care of the details and the arrangement of the shepherds, imagining their dialogues as if they were a real performance.

The scenographic set-up is not always the same, over time it has always been renewed: at the beginning of the 70s, it was set up in papier-mâché, with the passing of the years, the papier-mâché was replaced with cork and more and more attention was given to the scenes which have become increasingly complex in their details and increasingly detailed and precise.

On December 7, the eve of the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, at the end of the Eucharistic celebration at 19:30 pm, the nativity scene was inaugurated and blessed by Archbishop Monsignor Francesco Alfano with the participation of the parish priest and local spiritual guide, Monsignor Angelo Castellano, and the mayor of Vico Equense Giuseppe Aiello.

Visiting hours of the nativity scene: weekdays only in the afternoon from 16pm to 20pm; pre-holidays and holidays from 10am to 12,30:16pm and from 20,30pm to XNUMX:XNUMXpm. The nativity scene can also be visited by appointment.