Nativity Scene of Driftwood at Porto Garibaldi

In depth

What it is

The Presepe di legni di mare is an artistic installation set up every year in Porto Garibaldi, the seaside hamlet of Comacchio, in the square in front of the Bagno Paradiso bathing establishment, a few steps from the beach and the canal port. It is not a traditional nativity scene with plaster or terracotta figurines, but a sculptural work made with driftwood, assembled to shape the figures of the Nativity. It is part of the wider circuit of nativity scenes that Comacchio sets up during the Christmas period, known as Presepi sull'acqua, which brings to life churches, bridges and canals in the historic centre and its coastal hamlets.

What makes it special

What makes it unique is above all the technique: no new materials, but trunks, branches and planks smoothed and bleached by salt, collected along the coast and then assembled without altering their natural shape, letting the outline of the wood itself suggest the volumes of the figures. It is an open-air work, visible at any time, located not in a church or a grotto but in a public square by the sea, in a summer holiday resort that transforms into a small Christmas scene in winter. The connection with the sea is not only material but also symbolic, because it recalls the identity of Porto Garibaldi, a village of fishermen and bathing establishments.

Origins and history

The author is Enrico Menegatti, a sculptor born in 1955 in Codigoro, for years a diver in hydraulic reclamation works. In the summer of 2015, at sixty years old, on a beach at Lido di Volano he began playfully assembling driftwood washed up by the sea, creating large animal sculptures, a project he called Sculture nate dal mare which earned him recognition and permanent exhibitions over the years, including one in the park of the Abbazia di Pomposa. From this technique also came his production of religious subjects, including the Nativity set up in Porto Garibaldi. The sources consulted do not report a precise date for the first installation of this specific nativity scene, which has nonetheless become a regular feature of the Comacchio Christmas programme.

What you can see

In the square of the Bagno Paradiso you can observe the figures of the Holy Family and the Nativity scene entirely composed of reclaimed wood, with irregular shapes and the natural colours of wood aged by sun and salt water. The effect is that of a rustic and textural nativity scene, very different from classical representations, designed to dialogue with the marine landscape that surrounds it: the beach, the port and the horizon over the Adriatic Sea.

When and how to visit

The nativity scene is set up during the Christmas period, in line with the rest of the nativity scenes in Comacchio which traditionally remain visible from 7 December to 6 January, but the dates for the current edition should always be checked on the Comune channels or the tourist office as they may vary from year to year. Being located in an open public space, it is always visible, with no opening or closing times and no admission charge.