SW News: St Francis of Assisi is credited with depicting the first Nativity Scene in the Catholic sphere. Now, in the town where his mortal remains rest, facades of churches sport video projections of Nativity Scenes. It was on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 that the Nativity Scenes were inaugurated after the evening Mass and the lighting of the Christmas tree.

Images are projected on the Basilica of St Francis, the Cathedral of St Rufino, the Piazza del Comune, the Basilica of St Claire and the Abbey of St Peter. Apart from the visual projection, there are life-size sculptures and colourful lighting to make the Nativity Scenes more appealing.

On the same day of the inauguration, a Nativity Scene gifted to the Holy Father Pope Francis in 2019 by the Pare di Conegliano artistic crèche group was set up in the upper Basilica of St Francis. The displays will remain until January 10. The crib depicts the Holy Family inside a dairy in Erbezzo, a locality in Lessinia. The wooden figurines comprising more than 100 life-size sculptures were all hand-crafted by artisans of Ortisei.

The  Municipality of Castel Ivano in the Province of Trento donated the 15-meter white fir set up in the lower square of the basilica. The tree is illuminated with 40,000  LED lights. The tree was felled from the certified forest in the village of Villa Agnedo.