La Fair of Santa Lucia under the arcades of Bologna, a traditional appointment for the Emilian city. For the Christmas of the Bolognese who sink their own roots in time and precisely in the sixteenth century when the Pope gives a relic of Saint Lucia to the Church of Bologna. Subsequently, in via Castiglione, the Jesuit order founds a church to keep the precious relic. Over time the religious order is suppressed, the church of Santa Lucia is closed and is no longer used for carrying out religious rites. Today, in fact, it is the great hall of the University of Bologna.
The Fair of Santa Lucia
Currently the fair dedicated to the saint on 13 December takes place in Strada Maggiore under the portico of the Basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi, where the votive effigy of Saint Lucia had been transferred. Right here, in the past, the craftsmen begin to display their original works on their benches: characters in papier-mâché, wood, plaster or terracotta. Among other things, it must be said that the traditional nativity scene of Bologna differs from other Italian schools because the figures are sculpted in full, including the clothes. Therefore, it is not a matter of statues subsequently covered with cloth clothes.
The Portico of the Servants
The portico where the fair takes place is part of the 62 kilometers of Bolognese arcades declared a World Heritage SiteUnesco in 2021.
The construction works started at the end of the 26th century and ended in the XNUMXth century. The trade fair, in general, takes place from mid-November to the end of December; this year to be precise it will go on until December XNUMXth. As per now inveterate popular tradition, the fair is dedicated to crib and Christmas decorations. The ideal place to rediscover one of the most ancient traditions of the magnificent Bologna.
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