In depth
What it is
In the heart of the Bolognese hills, inside the galleries of the "Vittorio Putti" air-raid shelter, carved into the grotto of Villa Revedin (Seminario Arcivescovile di Bologna, near the complex of San Michele in Bosco), every Christmas an extraordinary nativity scene comes to life. Not a church, not a square, but a real underground wartime shelter hosts the representation of the Nativity, combining faith, historical memory and an atmosphere suspended in time. It is one of the few nativity scenes in Bologna set up in an authentic grotto, visitable only with guided tours organised by the association that oversees the recovery of the site.
What makes it special
What strikes visitors is the setting: the statues of the Nativity are arranged along the austere galleries of an almost intact air-raid shelter, extending for about 300 metres, carved into an old yellow sandstone quarry already active since the eighteenth century. The nativity scene consists of nineteen figures, from the Bolognese parish of Santa Teresa del Bambino Gesù, of very different sizes: from the few centimetres of the lambs to over 80 centimetres of the statue of San Giuseppe. Some figures of the Holy Family have been recently restored. In the same environment, testimonies from different eras coexist: the eighteenth-century quarry, a nineteenth-century votive grotto and the wartime structures of the shelter, built for the Ospedale Militare during the Second World War. It is not a freely accessible nativity scene: it can only be visited in small groups, accompanied by a guide, which makes the experience more intimate compared to the large city nativity scenes.
Origins and history
The shelter was born out of wartime necessity: from 1941 the grotto of Villa Revedin was equipped for the Ospedale Militare established in the Seminario Arcivescovile di Bologna, and on 9 March 1943 the Ufficio del Genio Militare formally asked Cardinal Nasalli Rocca to use the grotto as a shelter for patients. After the war the structure fell into disuse, until it was recovered and made visitable by the association Amici delle vie d'acqua e dei sotterranei di Bologna. In 2021 the idea was born to set up, for the first time in the city, a nativity scene inside a real grotto: the statues were made available by the parish of Santa Teresa del Bambino Gesù. Since then the installation has returned every Christmas season, becoming one of the most distinctive proposals among the nativity scenes of the region, also reported by the local press. No other stages of this history beyond those reported here are documented.
What to see
The route crosses the brick and stone galleries of the shelter, with still visible traces of wartime use, up to the cavity carved into the rock where the Nativity is set up. Here are the Holy Family, the shepherds, the animals and the other traditional characters of the nativity scene, arranged between the yellow sand walls of the quarry and a small nineteenth-century votive grotto incorporated into the structure. During the visit the guide recounts both the religious history of the Nativity and the lesser-known history of the shelter and the role of the Seminario and Villa Revedin during the war.
When and how to visit
The nativity scene is set up every year during the Christmas period, roughly between early December and Epiphany; in the last edition the route was open from 8 December to 6 January. Access is possible exclusively with guided tours by reservation, organised by the association Amici delle vie d'acqua e dei sotterranei di Bologna: free entry or independent visits are not available. The visits, lasting about an hour and a half or two, take place in small groups accompanied by a volunteer from the association and are paid, with rates that vary depending on the type of route proposed. Booking is mandatory, by email to segreteria@amicidelleacque.org or by telephone on +39 347 5140369. For the dates and times of the current edition it is advisable to check the association's website before visiting, as they may change from year to year.
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