The illuminated nativity of Manarola 2026-2027

From 8 December 2026, at 17.30, the Manarola nativity lights up in the heart of the Cinque Terre, the most photographed in Liguria; by tradition the lighting comes with a fireworks display. The nativity stays lit until the end of January. It was begun in 1961 by Mario Andreoli, a former railway worker who died in 2022, to keep a promise to his father: today there are 240 life-size figures lit by 8.000 bulbs, with shepherds, the Magi, the ox, the donkey and the Holy Family, and an illuminated little train running among them. It can be admired from the Litoranea road between La Spezia and the Cinque Terre, from via Belvedere or from the church square. The advice is to arrive by train after sunset.