In Salice Salentino, a famous town in Puglia, renowned throughout the world for its good wine, two museums coexist that we could define as opposites, the Negroamaro museum, dedicated exclusively to wine, and the original and incredible museum of nativity scene art. It is a delightful museum adjacent to the multi-scene artistic nativity scene of Salice Salentino. The latter is the largest artistic representation of the Gospels. From the birth of Jesus to his passion, passing through the last supper and continuing with the resurrection.
A journey that through different scenography and historical settings, reconstructs the entire life of the Savior, telling the word of God with terracotta puppets and a lot of patience, devotion and creativity.
A work that, like Gaudí's Sagrada Familia, is still under construction, despite the fact that work began way back in 1981.
The decades-long work is the work of the craftsman and creator Francesco Spagnolo, helped by his family and in particular by his son.
The nativity scene structure has a total size of 600 m2, with 34 oriental-style settings created using the traditional papier-mâché and Lecce plaster techniques.
26 scenes represent the birth and childhood of Jesus.
8 instead concern his adult life and subsequent passion
All the settings had a long gestation and processing phase, not by chance in the museum every single operation is recounted in minute detail.
The creation of plants, bricks of houses, rocks. The latter are made of expanded foam worked and painted with acrylic colors.
Another gem, which is almost maniacal, is the celestial vault which depicts the celestial firmament of the northern hemisphere in the same position it was in at the birth of Christ.
Therefore, the nativity scene can be admired both during the day and at night, with the constellations lighting up and showing the way to the Magi from all over the world.
In the nativity scene there is also room for the apocryphal gospels. Looking carefully at the nativity cave, you notice a figure that is not present in the synoptic gospels, namely Anastasia, the midwife who according to the apocrypha helped Mary give birth on that cold night in Bethlehem.
The multi-scene artistic nativity scene and the museum of nativity art are in Salice Salentino in via Giovanni XXIII, number 23. The rooms can be visited all year round, admission is free.
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Maccheroni Pasta
Amore DI Puglia Pillow
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