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Home » News and Events » Lost trapani and the mechanical nativity scene

LOST TRAPANI AND THE MECHANICAL NATIVITY SCENE

Written by Luca Sciacchitano - 03/12/2018

From: 06/12/2018 - To: 31/01/2018
Place: trapani

PAST
EVENT

The Christmas events in Trapani will begin in the church of San Nicola on December 6 with the inauguration and blessing of the Monumental Regal Mechanical Crib after the Eucharistic celebration presided by the Bishop of Trapani, MonSan Pietro Maria Fragnelli, on the occasion of the solemnity of St. Nicholas of Bari.

The occasion is also to take a trip to a lost and rediscovered city, a journey through Roman architecture and the ancient Drepanum, between faith and history, past and present.

The protagonist of this special day, to which all the inhabitants of Trapani and tourists are invited to participate is the Protobasilica of San Nicola di Trapani, precisely, which is a place of worship rich in history.

Tradition has it that the church stands on the same site as an ancient temple dedicated to Neptune, where Belisario had already built in 536 a place of worship of the Greek rite dedicated to the Ascension of Jesus.

Thanks to the Chiaramonte family, the church is restored with the construction of a chapel dedicated to San Nicola di Bari.

In the sixteenth century the church became a parish, but today it is no longer and is only open to worship on certain occasions as for the celebration of the Rite of the Descent of the Cross on Good Friday.

Returning to the solemnity of December 6 will be possible to visit the Catacombs, which are ancient crypts used for the burial of the dead, because centuries ago there were no cemeteries that we know today, but the dead were buried in the basement of the churches under the altars, where real tombs were made.

Then later this type of burial was forbidden for hygienic reasons.

The highlight of the day will be the inauguration of the Monumentale Regio Presepe Meccanico, which brings us back to a nineteenth-century Trapani that no longer exists.

Finally, it will be possible to visit the largest Santini Collection in the world, the Roman Sarcophagus, the precious sculptures, the paintings and the precious marble works.

(texts Giuseppe Puglia)

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