As every year - from December 22nd to January 6th - the great crib of the Basilica of San Francesco returns, in the Library room.
The Christmas tree has its charm, but the representation of the birth of Jesus has a meaning that binds together happiness and depth.
This depth had involved St. Francis of Assisi to the point that, in 1223 returning from the Holy Land, he went to the hermitage of Greccio to celebrate Christmas and that place, which seemed so similar to Bethlehem, was the scene of the birth of the first crib: Francis placed an altar on a manger (crib, from the Latin praesepium, means precisely manger) and after having brought some straw, a donkey and an ox, he celebrated the Eucharist.
With the time, this event was known by many people who wanted to replicate it giving life to the diffusion of the crib as we know it today, with statues, environments also equipped with mechanical movements up to living representations.
Entrance from Piazza Malpighi 9. It is open every day from 9.00 to 12.00 and from 15.00 to 19.00. No reservation is required for the visit and an offer is appreciated.
