Nativity scene
Italian name: Presepe popolare romagnolo di San Bartolo
A popular Romagnol nativity scene lit day and night in the courtyard of the Labadabadu center in San Bartolo, a hamlet near Ravenna: free admission, outside the historic center circuits.
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.
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Artistic nativity scene
It's a traditional Romagna-style nativity scene, created by Piergianni Gualtieri together with Paolo Gardini and Ettore Perazzini. You'll find it in the spaces of Centro didattico ricreativo Labadabadu, a small community facility in a hamlet. It remains always visible, so you can see it even in the evening.
The edition number is not published: it is held every year at Christmas.
Centro Labadabadu, via Cella 255
via Cella, 255, 48124 San Bartolo, Ravenna (RA)
It's located in San Bartolo, a small hamlet just a few kilometres from the centre of Ravenna, in Centro Labadabadu, a former barn converted into a community centre for families.
No car, or late in the evening after your visit: a driver takes you right to the nativity scene and back to your hotel.
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Free admission
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 popular Romagnolo nativity scene of San Bartolo is a Christmas display curated by Piergianni Gualtieri inside the Centro Didattico Ricreativo Labadabadu, at via Cella 255, in the small hamlet of San Bartolo, a few kilometres from the centre of Ravenna. It is not located in a church or museum, but in the courtyard and spaces of a community centre created for music, reading and family activities. The nativity scene is always visible, day and night, and is listed by the Municipality of Ravenna among the city's Christmas events. Admission is free.
The distinctive feature of this nativity scene is first and foremost its location: not a grotto or chapel, but the garden and rooms of a local recreational educational centre, designed year-round for children and families in the area. It remains lit and illuminated twenty-four hours a day, so it can be seen even by those passing in the evening or at night, when many other nativity scenes in the area are already closed to the public. It is a handcrafted and popular work, born from the passion of a single enthusiast, Piergianni Gualtieri, created together with other local collaborators: a homemade, community nativity scene, far from the official displays of the city's historic centre.
The nativity scene is a personal initiative of Piergianni Gualtieri, also known in the Ravenna area for having created other nativity scenes, including the one at the hospice Villa Adalgisa. The official sources consulted, starting with the list from the Municipality of Ravenna, do not precisely report the year the San Bartolo display was created nor how it has evolved over time: it is a local Christmas tradition linked above all to the voluntary commitment of those who care for it season after season, so on this point the origins are not documented with certainty. The nativity scene coexists with the more recent history of Centro Labadabadu, the cultural association founded in 2021 by Chiara Tonelli and Michele Guerra, which transformed an old barn in the hamlet into a space for music, reading and socialising, becoming over the years a reference point for San Bartolo and the neighbouring villages.
The nativity scene depicts the Nativity according to traditional iconography, with the figures of the Holy Family set in a popular Romagnolo setting. Around it, visitors find themselves in the spaces of Labadabadu: the centre's courtyard and the rooms that during the year host music courses and the small children's library L'Albero di Gio. It is a simple and informal experience, designed more for those who live in or pass through the hamlet than for organised tourism, and precisely for this reason it offers an authentic glimpse of a corner of the Ravenna countryside outside the better-known circuits.
The San Bartolo nativity scene is set up every year during the Christmas period, generally between early December and mid-January. In the last documented edition it was visible from 7 December 2025 to 11 January 2026, always lit and illuminated, with no opening or closing times: it can be seen at any time, even in the evening. Admission is free. For the dates and times of the current edition, it is advisable to check the list of nativity scenes published by the Municipality of Ravenna or the channels of the Labadabadu centre, as the period and arrangements may vary from year to year.
The photos belong to their respective owners or to whoever holds the rights, and are published under the licence shown below each image.
