In depth
What it is
The Presepe unico delle scuole di Lugo is a collective nativity scene exhibition, designed and created by children and young people from schools in Lugo, from nurseries to lower secondary schools. Every year, during the Christmas period, the entire school community of Lugo works together on a single, large shared nativity scene, which takes shape in the Chiostro del Carmine, in the heart of the historic centre. It is not an author's nativity scene signed by a single artist, but a collective work that weaves together the creations of multiple generations of students, from the youngest to the oldest.
What makes it special
What makes this nativity scene unique is precisely its choral and shared nature: it comes from the contribution of all the city's schools, from nurseries to lower secondary schools, united in a single project. The youngest children create the decorations for the sky, little stars, clouds, angels and snowflakes, while the older students take care of the background panels and the central figures of the nativity. The materials are chosen with attention to the environment: cardboard, fabric, plastic and recycled paper become characters, animals and landscapes of the nativity scene, in a work of creative recycling that also has educational value. The setting is no less impressive: the Chiostro del Carmine, with its seventeenth-century porticoes, gives the installation a historic and intimate atmosphere, different from the usual caves or huts.
Origins and history
The initiative was born from the will of the Municipality of Lugo, in particular the school service and the Consulta dei Ragazzi, in collaboration with the Unione dei Comuni della Bassa Romagna, with the aim of involving every school in the city in a single shared Christmas project. It has been documented at least since the 2019/2020 edition, when the nativity scene was set up at the Ghiacciaia della Rocca di Lugo. Over the years the initiative has remained a fixed appointment of Christmas in Lugo, changing location over time: in the most recent editions, including the 2025/2026 one, the school nativity scene finds its home in the Chiostro del Carmine. The precise date of birth of the project is not documented, but its nature remains that of a choral work that is renewed every year with new works by the students.
What you can see
Visiting the cloister, you find yourself in front of a composite nativity, made of panels, papier-mache figures and recycled materials, populated by characters created with different techniques according to the age of the authors: from the simple decorations of the youngest to the more elaborate scenographies of the middle school students. The result is a visual narrative of the Nativity filtered through the imagination of hundreds of children and young people, in an intimate setting, that of the porticoes of the seventeenth-century cloister attached to the chiesa del Carmine, which provides a silent backdrop to the visit.
When and how to visit
The school nativity scene is part of Lugo's Christmas events calendar and is normally inaugurated at the end of November, remaining open until Epiphany. In the latest edition it was inaugurated on Sunday 30 November 2025 at 4 pm in the Chiostro del Carmine, with opening to the public until 6 January 2026; precise daily opening hours for this venue have not been announced. Admission is free. For the dates and times of the current edition it is advisable to check the Christmas programme published by the Municipality of Lugo before visiting, as the location of the nativity scene has changed over the years.
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