Notice for those who are in Rome or will be passing through by January 8, 2026: there is a leather nativity scene among the 132 on display in St. Peter’s Square. On December 8, as part of the Giubileo è Cultura exhibition, the curtain rose on the eighth edition of the International Exhibition 100 Presepi in Vaticano (100 Nativity Scenes in the Vatican). The exhibition is set up, as is now tradition, in Bernini’s left colonnade.
There is a leather nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square
“This year, 132 nativity scenes from 23 countries will be on display,” reads the 100presepi.va portal. “The nativity scenes synthesize the inspiration and imagination of the artists who create them with very different materials”. For example: “Japanese paper, silk, resin, polystyrene, wool, coconut and banana fiber, and glass. Among the artifacts from all over the world, there is one made from a tanning drum“. It was created by Territorio in Comune, association from San Miniato that has been creating the Presepe Stellato (Star Nativity Scene) in Ponte a Egola for years.
The leather nativity scene inside a drum
“In 2024” reads a note, “we added two iconic elements of Ponte a Egola to the Presepe Stellato. For the occasion, the hut became a real large wooden drum (3.5 meters in diameter and 3.5 meters long)”. But that’s not all. “Inside the drum are figures depicting the Nativity made of genuine vegetable-tanned leather”. The silhouettes were created “using laser cutting technology and then processed and dyed by hand“. Tradition and tanning identity are now taking center stage in St. Peter’s Square.
