To the mystique of the monumental Sicilian nativity scene of the Basanta-Martín collection is added an almost equally fantastic location: the Artificial Mountain of the Cats in the Retiro Park.
The nativity scene looks like something out of an Italian movie, with more than 160 hand-crafted figures, as can be seen in their expressive gestures. The scenes are displayed on a large circular platform of 40 square meters and are completed with showcases around showing sculptural groups and figures from other Italian nativity scenes in clay, wood, glass, ceramic or porcelain, turning the interior of the rock into a small museum of Mediterranean nativity art.
A Neapolitan nativity scene in a cave
The assembly, signed by the nativity scene master José Luis Mayo, has as protagonists the figures of the Italian Angela Tripi, hand-modeled in clay and cloth, each one different from the previous one, and is enriched with moving figures designed by Nicolás Salmerio that recreate markets, trades and scenes of daily life of the time.
In contrast to the typical Neapolitan urban Nativity scene, here the rural and Hebrew air of the Sicilian tradition dominates: shepherds, washerwomen, artisans and symbolic characters tell, through successive episodes, the life of Jesus from the Annunciation to the flight into Egypt.
The exhibition, free of charge, can be visited until January 8 from 11:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 20:00, and confirms the Retiro mountain as one of the most special Christmas scenes in the city: a crib hidden in a grotto, illuminated in twilight and crossed by Sicilian accents that make it a gem for lovers of nativity scenes and curious people looking for something different among the lights and Christmas markets.