Manarola Nativity Scene

What makes it special

The scene covers the Collina delle Tre Croci, the steep hill of terraced vineyards that rises above the village and the sea. Hundreds of life-size figures stand among the vines, lit by thousands of bulbs. From below, the lit figures spread across the dark hillside.

The figures are made by hand from recycled materials, the work of Mario Andreoli, who began the scene to honour a promise to his father and placed almost every figure himself for decades. After his death in 2022, the Cinque Terre National Park asked visitors to honour him by watching from a distance, from the San Lorenzo church square where he used to watch it himself.

Volunteers start work each October, clearing the terraces, repairing the figures and testing the cables, so the display changes from one year to the next. The Via Beccara, the mule track that crosses the hill, stays open for a closer look: you climb past individual figures and can see the reused materials they are built from.

Visiting

Arrive in the village before the lights come on and walk up to the square in front of the church of San Lorenzo. Its terrace faces the hill and takes in the whole scene in one view. A second viewpoint looking across at the hill is the Belvedere on Via Rollandi.

For the closer view, take the Via Beccara, the old mule track to Riomaggiore, which starts from the main square of Manarola. It climbs through the scene to the highest viewpoint.

From the top you can come back down the same steps or carry on over the hill to Riomaggiore. The whole track is 1.8 km, rated difficult, and takes about an hour.

Tips

Carry a torch for the Via Beccara. Wear shoes with grip: the village lanes turn slippery in the evening and the steps are uneven. Come on a weekday if you can, because weekend evenings bring the crowds.

On opening night a torchlight walk climbs the hill before the switch-on, and the village adds a small Christmas market and fireworks over the sea.