Presepe dei Netturbini, Nativity scene in Rome, Italy
Presepe dei Netturbini is a permanent nativity scene arranged inside an artificial cave in the Aurelio neighborhood of Rome. The display recreates an ancient Palestinian town with small tufa houses, narrow streets, rivers, bridges and aqueducts, all laid out along a winding path in a dim, damp space.
The scene was first assembled in 1972 by two sanitation workers who built it in about two months using lime, mortar and salvaged materials. Over the following decades it kept growing through yearly additions, and by 2011 its fortieth anniversary was marked with a special postal cancellation and commemorative postcards.
Local families often come back each year around the holidays to see which new stones and miniature buildings have been added to the scene. In the small museum corner, visitors can spot rock fragments sent from various parts of the world, turning the nativity into a quiet collection of gifts from faraway places.
The visit follows a short indoor route with irregular paving and low lighting, so comfortable shoes and some care while walking are useful. Since the space is compact, early morning or weekday visits tend to be quieter and allow more time to notice the small details.
Among the thousands of donated stones are small pieces brought back from the Moon and from Mars, kept inside the cave next to the miniature streets. A few bridge slabs in the scene also come from marble originally part of the colonnade in front of Saint Peter's Basilica.
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