Presepe o Albero di Natale… che tipo sei (are you a crib person or a Christmas tree person )?
It is Christmas time and wherever you go in Italy you will find not only Christmas trees, but also our presepi (cribs). In spite of the fact that the Christmas tree is becoming very popular in Italy, il presepe (or presepio, both of them are correct) still has its evocative mystique. On the other hand, Italy seems to be the cradle of the presepe: the first ever crib was made by Francesco D’assisi in 1223 in Greggio, right where he used to live.
We, Italian people, love to prepare our presepe, look for the best ‘ingredients’ in order to make it more realistic, such as moss (for the grass), pieces of bark (for the mountains), flour (for the snow), silver paper (for rivers and lakes)… once I managed to use some water to make a lake! It seems we are going back to our childhood playing with Lego… You will be amazed by the presepi you will encounter in every town or village. I have some pictures here of a presepe in Lerici (La casa sul mare http://www.lacasasulmarelerici.it/), not too far from Le Cinque Terre. Be careful though, some of them are ‘presepi viventi’ (living cribs) and you might have some surprises!
BUON NATALE A TUTTI!!
