Nativity scene
Italian name: Presepe meccanico della Chiesina degli Orfani di Coriano
A mechanical nativity scene animated by volunteers in the chapel of the ancient orphanage of Coriano: the Nativity moves among cave, shepherds and the scene dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi.
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.
Mechanical or animated nativity scene
It's a mechanical nativity scene set up inside the small church, with scenes of the Nativity set in motion by mechanisms. It's cared for and reassembled every year by volunteers from the Zona Pastorale di Coriano. In the latest edition, a new scene dedicated to San Francesco d'Assisi has been added.
The edition number is not published: it is held every year at Christmas.
Chiesina degli Orfani, via Garibaldi 2
Via Garibaldi 2, 47853 Coriano (RN)
It's located in Coriano, in the hinterland of Rimini, inside the Chiesina degli Orfani, the chapel of the former Istituto Agricolo Orfani di Guerra. Look for the sign for via Garibaldi in the town centre.
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 transferAdmission by donation
Admission by free donation
Information 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 meccanico della Chiesina degli Orfani is an animated nativity display set up inside the small church at via Garibaldi 2, in Coriano, in the Rimini hinterland. Also known as "Pace e Bene, la Natività degli Orfani", it presents a representation of the Nativity with figures and scenes set in motion by mechanisms, maintained and operated by a group of volunteers from the Zona Pastorale di Coriano. The display accompanies the Christmas festivities and remains visible in the weeks following Epiphany.
Unlike large monumental outdoor nativity scenes, this is an intimate indoor nativity, designed to fit the space of the small church: what makes it special is not its size, but the mechanism that animates figures and scenes, bringing movement to some scenes of the Nativity. The setting is also unusual: the Chiesina degli Orfani is not just any parish church, but the chapel attached to the former Istituto Agricolo Orfani di Guerra di Coriano, linked to the social history of the town in the twentieth century. In the most recent edition the nativity scene has been enriched with a new scene dedicated to San Francesco d'Assisi. In the same building, at weekends, a photographic exhibition on the history of the Istituto degli Orfani di Guerra is also open to visitors, allowing the nativity scene to be read as part of the collective memory of the town.
Available sources do not report precisely when this mechanical nativity scene was created nor who first conceived it: the origins of the display itself are not documented. It is known to be the work of volunteers connected to the Zona Pastorale di Coriano, who maintain and reassemble it each year for Christmas. The small church that hosts it has a documented history: it was built as the chapel of the Istituto Agricolo Orfani di Guerra, the orphanage established from September 1919 by don Guglielmo Mondaini together with a group of local notables, to house the male children of war casualties. The institution was established as a legal entity by royal decree on 18 January 1923, and the small church attached to the structure was inaugurated in 1933 thanks to contributions from numerous Coriano residents. The nativity scene was added in more recent years as a community initiative, periodically renewed: the most recent edition, for example, introduced a new scene dedicated to San Francesco, showing that the display continues to be expanded year by year.
Inside the small church visitors find a representation of the Nativity animated by mechanisms that move some of the figures and scenic elements, with grotto, shepherds and animals, updated with the scene dedicated to San Francesco d'Assisi introduced in the most recent display. The intimate space of the small church, with its early twentieth-century architecture, provides an intimate setting for the exhibition. At weekends the visit to the nativity scene can be combined with the photographic exhibition on the history of the Istituto Orfani di Guerra, displayed in the same building.
The nativity scene usually opens during the Christmas period, from early December to early February, with admission at weekends and on public holidays. In the 2025/2026 edition the inauguration took place on 8 December at 6 pm, and the exhibition remained open until 1 February 2026, with opening on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, generally in the afternoon. Dates and times may vary from year to year: it is advisable to check them before visiting. Admission is free, by donation. For updated information contact the Zona Pastorale di Coriano on +39 0541 657167 or at segreteriacoriano@gmail.com, or consult the Facebook page "La Natività degli Orfani".
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