St Francis' Canticle of the Creatures represented in the Sand Nativity of Lignano Sabbiadoro

22 January 2019

St Francis' Canticle of the Creatures represented in the Sand Nativity of Lignano Sabbiadoro

Early January 2019: it is cold, but the days in Friuli Venezia Giulia are clear and bright and the snow is found only on the mountains that frame our region to the north. So on Sunday we decided to take a walk on the beach and we went to Lignano Sabbiadoro for the 15th edition of the Sand Nativity, available until the 27th of January.

It was the first time I’d visited, and to be honest, I didn’t expect much; but the sight in front of me was really beautiful and moving. Inside a large marquee placed in front of the Terrazza a Mare, close to Office 4, is a path between sand sculptures representing the Nativity, made by Sand Academy artists from all over Italy.

This year the theme is St Francis' Canticle of the Creatures, and the sculptures are three-dimensional representations of the cycle of frescoes that Giotto painted inside the Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padua in 1300, which depict the Birth of Jesus and the Adoration of the Magi.

The path between the sculptures and the images of Giotto's paintings, interspersed with St Francis' verses on panels, is very suggestive. The entrance is by donation and each visitor is given a card to write wishes, impressions, and thoughts, which can be hung from a large symbolic tree at the end of the path. The most beautiful notes from last year are displayed in a showcase: thoughts of peace and hope that bring comfort to the heart.