Living Presepe – Living Nativity Scene

… e la Luce brillò… Venite e vedete!

16th edition – 2019

From December 26th 2019 to January 6th 2020

Parrocchia Sacro Cuore di Gesù –Trappitello,  Taormina (ME)

FREE ENTRANCE

The presepe will be held in case of rain too.

During Christmas time in Italy, you are bound to come across cribs in homes and piazzas all over the country. Many cities also have a living crib, or a living nativity scene. It is thought that St. Francis hosted the first living nativity scene in 1223, sparking a tradition that continues in Italy to this day. Beginning on Christmas day, and running until January 6th, towns throughout Italy hold pageants to re-act the night of Jesus’ birth. Actors portray Mary, Joseph, the three Magi and other biblical figures from the gospel.

In Trappitello, peripherical area of Taormina, every year in Chrismas time, a Living Crib with more than 200 “actors” and “walk-ons” is organised. It is one of the most appreciated living cribs of Sicily counting 22.000/25.000 people visiting the event every year.

The location set is the huge garden of the old small church of Santa Venera with impressive old buildings such as an oil mill, a millstone, a mallet and a windmill.  While in a secluded and evocative place the Capanna della Natività is located, where the Holy Child is welcomed and warmed by the love of his parents, Maria and Giuseppe, and by a docile ox and a tender donkey.
In fact there are many and various animals “working” as extras in the crib – among which a majestic camel stands out.

On January 6th, according to tradition, the Three Wise Men (the Three Kings) will enter “Bethlehem”, bringing their gifts to Baby Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

At the exit of the Living Nativity there is the possibility to visit the ancient Church of S. Venera, admire a rich exhibition of Holy Jesus and taste typical products of our tradition.

Opening hours:
– 26 December – 5.00pm / 9.00pm
– 27 Dicembre – 6.00pm / 9.00pm
– 29 Dicembre – 6.00pm / 9.00pm
– 30 Dicembre – 6.00pm / 9.00pm
– 1 January – 6.00pm / 9.00pm
– 2 January – 6.00pm / 9.00pm
– 4 January – 6.00pm / 9.00pm
– 5 January – 5.00pm / 9.00pm
– 6 January – 5.00pm / 9.00pm

How to get there:  Motorway A18 Messina/Catania, exit Taormina, Direction SS. 185 (statal road, blu sign),  500 metres from the motorway exit.
More info: T. +39 0942/50210 – M. +39 339/8320324 and +39 349/4289961 – presepetrappitello@gmail.com

FB: Presepe Vivente di Trappitello
#presepetrappitello

Where to stay

Hotel La Pensione Svizzera – Hotel Villa Schuler – Hotel Villa Ducale – Hotel Villa Carlotta

PHOTO EXHIBITION

Von Gloeden, Taormina e il Mediterraneo

Del Carmine ex-church, from December 4th 2019 to January 15th 2020

curated by Luca Beatrice and Willy Montini

Opening hours
Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday: 10.00am – 2.00pm and 3.00pm – 7.00pm
Saturday/Sunday: 10.00am – 7.00pm
Monday: closed

Free entrance

A photo exhibition of some of the most beautiful photographs taken by baron Whilelm Von Gloeden who spent in Taormina most of his life and, thanks to his work, made our town worlwide famous.

The exhibition – by displaying more than twenty original photographs now belonging to the artist Bruno Di Bello – aims to show the artistic evolution of the photographer, detailing his journey from the first nudes to the last portraits.

Gloeden,_Wilhelm_von_(1856-1931)_-_n._0045_-_Terra_del_Fuoco

ABOUT WHILELM VON GLOEDEN

Wilhelm Iwan Friederich August Freiherr von Gloeden (September 16, 1856 – February 16, 1931) was a German photographer who worked mainly in Italy. He is mostly known for his pastoral nude studies of Sicilian boys, which usually featured props such as wreaths or amphoras suggesting a setting in the Greece or Italy of antiquity. From a modern standpoint, his work is commendable due to his controlled use of lighting as well as the often elegant poses of his models. His innovations include the use of photographic filters and special body makeup (a mixture of milk, olive oil, and glycerin) to disguise skin blemishes.
After studying art history in Rostock (1876), Gloeden studied painting under Karl Gehrts [de] at the Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School (1876–77) until he was forced by lung disease (apparently tuberculosis) to interrupt his studies for a year, convalescing at a sanatorium in the Baltic Sea resort of Görbersdorf. In a search for health, he travelled to Italy (1877–78), first staying in Naples before moving on to Taormina in Sicily. He lodged at the Hotel Vittoria before buying a house near San Domenico Convent. Apart from the period 1915-18, during the First World War, when he was forced to leave Sicily to avoid internment as an enemy alien, he remained in Taormina until his death in 1931.

The mayor of Taormina in 1872-82 was the German landscape painter Otto Geleng [de] (1843–1939), who had moved there in 1863. Through him, Gloeden became acquainted with the local inhabitants. He set up his photographic studio in Taormina at first as a hobby and was exhibiting his work internationally by 1893 (London), including Cairo (1897), Berlin (1898–99, including a solo exhibition), Philadelphia (1902), Budapest & Marseilles (1903), Nice (1903 & 1905), Riga (1905), Dresden (1909) and Rome (World Fair 1911).

(Sorce: Wikipedia)

Where to stay

Hotel La Pensione Svizzera – Hotel Villa Schuler – Hotel Villa Ducale – Hotel Villa Carlotta