The presepio vivente or enactment of the nativity, is carried on in many, but by no means all, communities in Italy. In Barga, as well as the biblical participants, there is a tradition of illustrating arts and crafts of bygone days. It all takes place in the streets of the old town which filmic enough on a normal night become even more so with the addition of flaming torches and candles for illumination, together with peasants, Roman soldiers, three kings and a liberal sprinkling of livestock including goats and donkeys (obviously, there has to be at least one donkey ...). In addition to the live pageant, there are many miniature crib scenes, each with its own personality...
The whole affair is lubricated by stalls handing out vin brulé (mulled wine) and dishing out polenta, cheese and chestnut delicacies.
Last night, for the first time, we went up the campanile of the duomo to see the three bells which we enjoy hearing on Sundays and holidays. We were shown them by a charming man, who, after we had conversed with him in our stumbling Italian, revealed in broad Scots that he had lived in Glasgow 40 years ago - and played footie for Hamilton Accies!
(apologies for the quality of the pics - I don't like to use flash in these situations - with predictable results!)
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| Seen in a house window on the way in to town - is this cute? |
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| And another ... |
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| The campanile illuminated within and without |
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| The clock mechanism - and another little presepio to enliven the scene ... |
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| The three bells - the oldest was cast in 1580 |
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| Musicians (including Italian bagpipes) provide the soundtrack |
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| The merry scene in a garden where vin brulé and chestnut fritters were on offer |
you guys are definitely ahead of us: we've never been on the campanile, and we've never seen the presepio vivente...
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