Nativity Scene Exhibition in Bardolino: Art, Tradition, and Heritage
More than a nativity scene, an exhibition of Nativity scenes is set up at the Rambaldi barn, organized by the cultural circle la Preonda. It is open every day from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM, as well as in the mornings on Saturdays and public holidays.
It hosts around forty pieces and scenographic collections, displayed in a 15th-century building that was restored to its original form a few years ago. Starting with the long white canvas, painted with dancing angels, which from the high ceiling descends onto a Bethlehem engaged in everyday activities, with the Magi appearing: all created by the skilled hands of Angelo Sposato and Gianni Lonardelli, with the background painted by Arnaldo Bonometti.
Works and Settings
On the right side at the entrance are the Announcements by Ettore Mazzi and Riccardo Vischioni, and the evocative interpretation of the flight into Egypt by Claudio Bartoli, a group depicting the Santa Chiara Monastery in Naples with the Poor Clares busy, after lovingly preparing the crochet nativity scene, rehearsing songs.
An artwork by Lisy Sala Lonardelli and Dino Peretti, now back in Bardolino after migrating for a couple of years to various German cities. Next to it, a beautiful reproduction by Pietro Zorzi, also present in the previous edition but further expanded, of the port of Bardolino and the surrounding streets.
The absolute novelty is an elaborate “Nativity on stilts” with a stilt village and next to it a protecting angel from 2000, a wooden statue by sculptor Gioe Loro, holding a bunch of grapes in one hand and a pomegranate in the other.
The ground floor also features: a Spanish village by Luciano Villa, a nativity scene set in a desert camp with settings by Daria, Mirella, and Sonia, while the right corner before ascending to the mezzanine hosts the nativity set assembled by the Associazione amici del presepio del Saval: an nativity scene according to the people of San Zoane, placed in an authentic “mostarola.”
Representations and Sculptures
Numerous representations of the Holy Family are lined up on the upper part of the loggia: from one in a stable of the Lessini area (authors Buniotto-Zancanella) to the rural Arab house made of wood, plaster, and polystyrene by Gian Gustavo; from a terracotta, stone, and wood nativity by Giovanni Castagna to the grotto-porch of a typical mountain village.
Similarly, the Nativity scenes include one carved from cedar wood by Lorenzo Girardi of Torri, another from olive wood by Alessandro Mancini of Calmasino, and a marble sculpture by Fiorio-Guardini of Fane.
To complete the Bardolino nativity exhibit, now in its seventeenth edition, is the life of Jesus, all handmade with natural materials by Carmelo Nicolosi; the nativity scene by Rocco Petrozza and Loredana Piludu of Rivoli; the Arab village by Paolo Mori; and works prepared by the three nursery schools: Bardolino, Calmasino, and Cisano.
Finally, there will be special occasions when valuable figures from 18th-century Naples and 19th-century Lecce, the latter made of papier-mâché, will be displayed.