I Presepi della Venezia Minore - Nativity Scenes in Venice

Velvet-clad, garden-like green with olive trees and flowers, protected by caves and nestled into dried straw and grass: Venetian presepi come smaller and simpler than the famous Napoli nativity scenes. Still, I think they are worth being looked at, as they are small and look almost private: Starting Christmas, and until 2 February, the Churches in Venice exhibit their Christmas cribs, as churches in Italy usually do. 

Presepio, Chiesa degli Scalzi, Cannaregio: sumptuous silk and brocade cloths 

Prespi in Venice often look like tiny gardens representing the birth of Christ scenes, and to my Venetian uncle and myself it is a dear tradition to visit cribs and to take pictures of course. After Christmas, I usually take a day or two to visit the carefully prepared presepi located in lesser known churches in Venice. These presepi differ considerably from each other, by style, size, colors, materials, much more than Southern Italian presepi do - these Venetian varieties may represent a good source of surprise. There are presepi in the Venetian houses too, you find them even more often than Christmas trees, as presepi are a tradition reaching back to San Francesco d'Assisi when Nativity Scenes were represented for the first time in the year 1223.

Presepio in a private home in Venice

The Italian tradition of building presepi is concentrated in the Naples and Amalfi areas. The meanings of backgrounds, figures and scenes presented at Italian presepi is defined by an excellent South Italian website, Arte del Presepe. But - as you will see, presepi in Venice are different. To get an overview and to be able to put them into their framework, the wintry calli e campi di Venezia, I am showing not only Nativity scene photos but also the background against which they need to be imagined. 

To see some typical and simple Venetian presepi, in the sestieri Castello and Cannaregio, you might start in Campo Santa Maria Formosa: in the mornings from 10:00 am onwards, churches are usually open.

We start out in the winterly Fondamenta dell'Osmarin, crossing the Rio dell'Osmarin to reach Corte Rota and continue towards Campo SM Formosa and its Church. Here you can enjoy after-Christmas peace and quiet, and today also the sun.

Rio SM Formosa in winter: green creeper plants embellish the rosso veneziano colored facades

From the bridge spanning Rio del Rimedio we enter the Campo in the late morning, and savor the chiaroscuro light - colors are particularly bright, clear and mild in January.  

Round the corner where the people are going to in the picture above is the entrance of the church, and here you can take a look at the first presepio: a simple one, draped in sheets of white, red and golden velvet and brocade cloths.

Presepio, Chiesa di Santa Maria Formosa

Afterwards, we continue and from the bridge spanning Rio di SM Formosa, we take a last look back towards this Church with its double facade and two entrance doors (one towards the Campo, the other one towards the Canal) ...

Here I am standing not to on the bridge one usually takes when one wants to cross quickly from Campo SM Formosa to Salizzada San Lio, but on the next one, to be able to take pictures of these particular winter sun rays reflected in the water which seems warm and even turqoise, complete with gondola

Another bright view towards the first bridge I took the pictures from

Now we are crossing the bridge that brings us to Calle del Mondo Novo and on towards San Lio ...

... as we are walking towards Campo San Zanipolo, and take a look at this church's presepio.

The presepio at San Giovanni e Paolo comes with greens and cyclamen flowers and olive twigs

To take in this scene at San Giovanni and Paolo, take a look at the video below:

We are now continuing towards the Chiesa di San Crisostomo, a dark red church on the throughway from Campo San Bartolomeo towards Strada Nova. But before we pass through one of my favorite spots in Venice - the area around Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and its campo and secret archways with turqoise still waters.

The church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and winter window gardens next to it overlooking the Rio dei Miracoli canal

On our way from Campo San Giovanni e Paolo towards the Campo dei Miracoli and on towards the Church of San Giovanni Crisostomo to ...

.. take a view of the presepio located in a cave with fake stone walls, complete with dried straw an grass, with simple figurines, smaller ones to convey perspective

From  here, it is a fine half hour to turn back to Strada Nova, and to walk on towards the Chiesa degli Scalzi to look at its presepio (second film below). And on its way, there was also a presepio next to the Ca d'Oro (below).

And there would be more for us to see - a presepio floating on water in the opposite direction of Venice, for example:

Presepio galleggiante on the Rio dei Mendicoli - source of picture: You Reporter (I need yet to go there too)