Nativity scene
Italian name: Presepe itinerante città di Ravenna
An artistic nativity scene by Ciro Aurilia that changes parish every day, starting from the Church of San Biagio: lights, mechanical movements and music animate the Nativity traveling around Ravenna.
Dates are those announced by the organisers and may change: always check the official site of the event before you leave.
From the airport, the station or your hotel: a driver takes you to the entrance and picks you up at the end. Fixed price, book online in two minutes.
Book your transferService by Romagna Transfer. Their site opens.
Artistic nativity scene
The nativity scene is a polystyrene set built by Ciro Aurilia, a set designer of Neapolitan origin who lives in Ravenna. The figures move with automated mechanisms. The lights reproduce the passage from day to night and the scene is accompanied by music. Every day it is transported to a different parish in the city, so the church hosting it changes.
The edition number is not published: it is held every year at Christmas.
dalla Chiesa di San Biagio, via Chiesa 7, poi ogni giorno una parrocchia diversa
Via Chiesa 7, Ravenna (RA)
The starting point is the Chiesa Arcipretale di San Biagio, in via Chiesa 7 in Ravenna. In the following days the nativity scene moves to other parish churches in the city, so check which parish it's at on the day before you set off.
No car, or late in the evening after your visit: a driver takes you right to the nativity scene and back to your hotel.
Book your transferInformation gathered from public sources (parishes, local associations, town halls, local press) about the last edition: check dates and hours on the official site before you set off.
The Presepe itinerante città di Ravenna is an artistic nativity scene created by Ciro Aurilia which, unlike a fixed installation, changes location every day: it starts from the Chiesa Arcipretale di San Biagio, in via Chiesa 7 in Ravenna, and in the following days is moved to a different parish in the city. It is designed for those who want to discover the Christmas nativity scene together with various churches and neighbourhoods of Ravenna, in a small pilgrimage among places of worship often little known to visitors.
The main distinctive feature is precisely its itinerant character: it is not a work that is visited in a single place, but a route that changes day by day among the parishes of Ravenna, offering a different setting each time. The scenery, made of polystyrene, was built about sixteen years ago and since then has been gradually enriched and perfected by Aurilia. The figures are animated by mechanised movements and the nativity scene is accompanied by lighting effects that simulate the passage from day to night, together with background music, elements that make it more lively and engaging than a traditional static nativity scene.
The author is Ciro Aurilia, set designer and scholar of nativity scene art of Neapolitan origin, resident in Ravenna for decades, where for about thirty years he has been creating nativity scenes in eighteenth-century Neapolitan style, including the permanent installation known as Presepe di Ciro in the same Chiesa di San Biagio. The itinerant nativity scene was born as a distinct work, in polystyrene, about sixteen years ago, with the idea of making it travel from parish to parish instead of leaving it in a single place. Over the years it has been repeatedly enriched with new details, movement mechanisms and lighting effects. The sources consulted do not report in a univocal way the exact year of birth nor a documented list of all the modifications made edition by edition.
Visitors find a Nativity scene set up in a scenic polystyrene structure, with statuettes and characters that move thanks to automated mechanisms, whilst the lights change to recreate the alternation of day and night over the landscape of the grotto. The atmosphere is accompanied by background music. Each day the scene is relocated to a different parish church in Ravenna, so the architectural setting that hosts it constantly changes, whilst the nativity scene itself remains unchanged.
The nativity scene follows the Christmas calendar promoted by the Comune di Ravenna, which generally includes the weeks between December and January. In the last known edition the itinerant route was visible from 24 December to 15 January, open every day from 9am to 12.30pm, starting from the Chiesa di San Biagio in via Chiesa 7. These dates and times refer to the past edition and should not be automatically considered valid for the current year: it is advisable to check the updated nativity scene calendar published by the Comune di Ravenna or the Tourist Office before visiting. Admission, according to the sources consulted, is free of charge.
The photos belong to their respective owners or to whoever holds the rights, and are published under the licence shown below each image.
