Andrea Pistolesi and the Artistic Nativity Scenes in Monte San Giusto

Finally, December has arrived and we’ve just started breathing the Christmas atmosphere!

I’ve been living abroad for a few years and to be honest, I always feel particularly homesick this time of the year and I miss the traditions of my early age.

I remember on the first Sunday of December, I used to go to the countryside of my village to collect the so called “vellutina”, a natural green moss to place in the nativity scene. Oh yes, those days of my youth the Nativity scene was built with living materials: cork, pieces of bark, wood and so on…

The so called “velluttina” (that’s the name used in the Marche to refer to the moss)

My mother sent my brothers and I to collect large pieces of moss in the country. And I remember our enthusiasm: we went out with our bags to be filled, ready to collect as much moss as possible in the surrounding lands.

Over the years, these habits have a bit faded, the accessories to build the manger scene have changed and the time to devote to this practice has declined.

This could be the reason why after meeting the Maestro Andrea Pistolesi the wish of coming back to tradition has revived in me.

The Maestro Andrea Pistolesi

In the charming town of Monte San Giusto, in the province of Macerata and specifically in the elegant and historical “Bonafede palace”, I enjoyed an exhibition of “Artistic Christmas Nativity Scenes” curated by Andrea, a renowed opera singer who has a passion for the art of creches from the age of six years.

A newspaper article talking about the “Maestro” and his collection of Nativity scenes

The display of the different artistic Nativity Scenes inside the historical Bonafede Palace

The exhibit displays 30 scenes made with nativity figures from all over Italy. Any creche is inspired by the landscape of the Marche and displays everyday life scenes. The show brings you to the most beautiful time of the year giving the visitors the possibility to start breathing a fascinating atmosphere!

I was totally blown out by these amazing works that made me feel as a child again, bringing my memories back to earlier traditions…

Andrea considers the Nativity Scene as much more than an hour of leisure: this is an important tradition strictly connected to our cultural identity.

I am deeply grateful to people who, like Andrea, take their time away from other more “profitable” activities to pursue a passion which, among other things, provides an undeniable benefit to the entire territory. These are the people who can revive our region and avoid that modern life and progress erase our traditions.

Good luck to this new Christmas edition of the Artistic Nativity Scene and to our dear friend Andrea!