In depth
What it is
The Presepe della Sacra Famiglia is an artistic nativity scene set up every year in the public park on via Volano, at the beginning of the street, in the hamlet of Porto Corsini, on the coast of Ravenna. It is promoted by the Pro Loco di Porto Corsini and is part of a wider route, the Presepi della via del mare, which links the three localities of the northern Ravenna coast: Porto Corsini, Marina Romea and Casal Borsetti. It is an outdoor installation, designed to be seen while strolling through the park, with no need for booking or opening times.
What makes it special
What makes this nativity scene particularly special is first and foremost the way it comes into being: it is not the work of a single artist, but the result of collaboration between the Pro Loco, the students of the Liceo Artistico Nervi-Severini in Ravenna and some parent volunteers, who every year take care of creating and maintaining the display. It is therefore a community nativity scene, linked to the area and its identity as a seafaring village. Being located in a public garden and not in a church or museum, the nativity scene is always visible, day and night, without opening times or tickets. It is also part of a small coastal route: after visiting it, you can continue to the other two nativity scenes of the northern coast, the one among the lagoons and pine forest of Marina Romea and the one with shells at Casal Borsetti, conceived as a single narrative spread along the coast.
Origins and history
The sources consulted do not give a precise date for the birth of this specific display, nor the name of whoever designed the first project in the park on via Volano. What is documented, however, is that the nativity scene is part of the Presepi della via del mare initiative, born from the idea of the Pro Loco associations of the northern Ravenna coast to build a shared project among the different coastal communities, rather than proposing nativity scenes isolated from one another. Every year the Porto Corsini display is looked after by the local Pro Loco together with the Liceo Artistico Nervi-Severini and parent volunteers, who ensure its continuity over time. The local press also reports that in Porto Corsini there is an older nativity scene tradition linked to the fishing world: a wooden nativity scene donated to the parish of Sacro Cuore by an art teacher, restored several times with the addition of mosaic tiles. The sources do not allow us to establish with certainty whether this episode concerns the same nativity scene now visible in the public park or a separate parish display, but it nevertheless testifies to the link between the village and the theme of the Nativity interwoven with life at sea.
What you can see
The nativity scene represents the Holy Family, Mary, Joseph and the Child, in a display set outdoors in the greenery of the park on via Volano. The available sources do not specify in detail the materials, exact dimensions or number of figures used in the most recent editions: the creation, looked after by art students and volunteers, may vary slightly from year to year. Visitors can stroll freely around the installation, set in the context of a public garden open to all, and combine the visit with a walk towards the sea or towards the other two nativity scenes on the coastal route, grasping the narrative thread common to the northern coast of Ravenna, linked to seafaring life and the tradition of fishermen.
When and how to visit
The nativity scene normally follows the Christmas holiday calendar: in the most recent edition it was visible from 9 December 2025 to 8 January 2026. Not being located in a building, it has no opening times: the display is always visible, day and night, in the public park on via Volano in Porto Corsini. Admission is free. For updated information on dates and related events, you can contact the Pro Loco di Porto Corsini or consult the pages dedicated to Christmas nativity scenes published by the Comune di Ravenna, checking the times and dates of the current edition before your visit.
