Presepe time again

The 23rd is the day in Barga for the Presepe Vivente.  although a nativity-based celebration, for us the highlights are the many exhibits of crafts from bygone times which are set up as tableaux in hidden nooks of the town which often are inaccessible to the public any other time of year.

People progress around the town enjoying the spectacle, and the refreshments available in the form of roasted chestnuts, chestnut fritters, chestnut polenta (an acquired taste - and texture!) and vin brulé.

The presepe doesn't start until after sunset...

... and a bit closer

On our walk into town, we pass my fauvourite crib scene in the window of a house on the Fornacetta ...

A cobbler in the woodpile ...

This lady is renewing rush-seat chairs

A schoolroom of yore is always a popular attraction ...

Enjoying a chestnut fritter - "frittata"

One of the palazzos boasts this illuminated fountain

Young men enjoy a cup of vin brulé in a piazza with the floodlit duomo as a backdrop

Christmas decorations seen on the way home