Exhibition “100 nativity scenes at the Vatican” – Christmas 2022 – Sonias’ crib

The Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization organizes every year a beautiful exhibition dedicated to the Nativity scenes. The exhibition “100 cribs at the Vatican” is running the fifth time, artists from all over the world are exhibiting works made with a wide range of techniques and materials. Following the example set by Pope Francis in his apostolic exhortation “Admirabile Signum”, the exhibition aims to place the nativity scene at the center of any and all Christmas venerations of families. The 2022 edition recorded a large return of over 200,000 visitors as well as an increase of participants: in fact, as many as 120 nativity scenes were exhibited under the colonnade of St. Peter’s Basilica.

ATTENDED BY VAL GARDENA

Among the many artworks presented this year, the Dicastery has voted for Sonia and one of her nativity scenes. Since Sonia’s youth, cribs have always been part of her culture. It is one of the oldest traditions of wood carvings and paintings in Val Gardena. Thus, Sonia proposed to the Vatican Commission her nativity figurines carved in Romanesque style. These statues are made of maple wood handcrafted and oil hand-painted including parts of real gold. The large stable made of pine wood, handcrafted as well, includes the global scene of Jesus’ birth and the adoration of the three Magi kings.

Would you like to know more about the techniques and characteristics of this nativity scene, then visit the page dedicated to the Sonia crib.

100 CHRISTMAS NATIVITY SCENES, ART WORK AND MEANING

The exhibition opened from Dec 8, 2022 through January 8, 2023, allowing thousands of visitors to enjoy a journey that led them to several art-styles, countries and cultures. A wide range of materials were used for these cribs: from wood, as in the case of Sonia, to papier-mâché and from polystyrene to glass. Each artist wanted to represent the birth of Jesus using the technique and materials that identified himself best. The countries of origin also were quite distinct, from Europe and from other continents as well. The exhibition was opened and closed specifically with two nativity scenes from Ukraine. The responsible committee wanted to put a strong sign of faith and hope in the birth of a child and to transmit this to the Ukrainian population, who at this time are so tragically ruined by the war

You may look up more details about this exhibition on the website 100presepi.it