Christmas Nativity - Nicolosi, Sicily - A Sicilian Christmas beneath Mount Etna

A Christmas Nativity display decorates a public square in Nicolosi, with life-size silhouettes surrounding a rustic stable and a mosaic set into dark volcanic rock.

A Christmas Nativity scene decorates a public square in Nicolosi, with life-size figures arranged around a rustic stable in the heart of this Sicilian town on the slopes of Mount Etna. In the foreground, a large piece of dark volcanic rock carries a colourful mosaic depicting Nicolosi, linking the traditional Christmas display with the town's close relationship to the volcano. The installation was photographed in early January, when Christmas decorations traditionally remain on display in Italy until Epiphany on 6 January. Nativity scenes, or presepi, are an especially important part of Italian Christmas tradition and range from small household displays to elaborate public installations occupying churches, streets and town squares. Here the simple wooden silhouettes, greenery and stable create a festive scene against Nicolosi's everyday architecture. The prominent use of dark lava stone provides a particularly appropriate local touch in a town whose buildings, streets and identity have been shaped for centuries by its position beneath Mount Etna.