Rome shows Christmas crib made of sand
December 10, 2018
St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in Rome is decorated with Christmas decorations: a Christmas crib is erected next to the 23-metre-high Christmas tree. From afar it looks like stone, but if you look closely you can see its fragility: 700 tons of sand were formed into Christmas flu by four sculptors from the USA, Russia, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
The sand for the crib was specially supplied from the Adriatic town of Jesolo. An annual sand sculpture festival takes place there. A roof construction protects the 16 metre wide and five metre high sculpture from the weather.
The crib and the Christmas tree, which is equipped with energy-saving lighting for the first time, will remain in place until the end of the liturgical Christmas season on January 10. Pope Francis visits the ensemble on New Year's Eve after a thanksgiving service at the end of the year.
is/ks (dpa, kna)