In depth
What it is
The Presepe di sabbia di Bellaria Igea Marina is a monumental nativity installation made entirely from sand from the Adriatic beach. It is located in the Igea Marina district, in Piazzetta Alda Merini, along the seafront promenade that runs alongside the beach. Every year, during the festive season, a group of international sculptors from the Arenas Posibles collective transforms tonnes of sand into a large scenic nativity scene, which has become over the years one of the most anticipated Christmas events on the Rimini Riviera.
What makes it special
What makes this nativity scene unique is first and foremost the material: not plaster, wood or terracotta, but compacted sand sculpted by hand, an ephemeral material that requires great technical skill and must be recreated from scratch each year. The sculptures are the work of professional artists specialising in sand art, from various European countries, who work for weeks before opening to the public. The location is also unusual: not a church or a historic town square, but the seafront itself, just steps from the beach, in a seaside setting that changes completely in winter. Each edition presents a different setting, with scenes of daily life, shepherds and common folk set in scenarios of streets, taverns, palaces and places of worship recreated in the finest detail.
Origins and history
The precise origins of the nativity scene are not documented with certainty: available sources agree in placing its birth more than a decade ago, when Bellaria Igea Marina was among the first municipalities in the province of Rimini to propose a sand nativity scene as a Christmas attraction. Since then the event has become a fixed appointment every December, entrusted to the Arenas Posibles collective, composed of sand sculptors of various European nationalities, including Spain and the Netherlands. Over the years the initiative has been enriched with additional content, such as markets, entertainment, music and tastings of local products during the festive days, alongside other Christmas installations in the area, including small nativity scenes set up in wooden vats on the Isola dei Platani.
What to see
The nativity scene occupies a large area of the square on the seafront, where the sand sculptures tell the story of the Nativity set in a scene that changes every year: alleyways, arches, facades of historic buildings, workshops and places of worship sculpted with attention to detail provide the backdrop to the Holy Family, shepherds and figures from rural life. The monumental dimensions of the sculptures and the technical skill of the artists, visible in the architectural profiles and the faces of the characters, are probably the aspect that most strikes first-time visitors.
When and how to visit
The sand nativity scene is set up every year during the Christmas period, generally from early December until Epiphany. In the most recent edition, between 6 December 2025 and 6 January 2026, it was open to visitors on 7, 8, 13 and 14 December from 9am to 6.30pm, on other days until 19 December only by telephone appointment on +39 338 2093889 and +39 339 4514765, and every day from 9am to 6.30pm from 20 December to 6 January. Admission is free. For future editions it is advisable to check updated dates and opening times on the official channels of the Comune di Bellaria Igea Marina or the local tourist office, as the calendar and visiting arrangements may vary from year to year.
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