Eleven thousand cubes for a truly original Nativity

Also this year, pupils, teachers and parents took delight in building a wonderful nativity scene, and placed it in the garden of the “Fermi” primary school, in Cassano Magnago. For the third consecutive year, the talented and creative Barrese family came up with an original idea for a nativity scene, made of wooden cubes, assembled in 200 chains. More than 11,000 cubes were used, after parents had drilled holes drilled into them, during the winter evenings. The cubes were then coloured and, at school, the children threaded them patiently one by one to form 2.5m chains. On Saturday 10 December, the parents assembled the chains and hung them on a wooden frame. The result is surprisingly beautiful: a 4m x 2.5m mosaic curtain showing the nativity scene.

The creation of the nativity scene involved everybody, with children, parents and teachers all working together in a serene and collaborative atmosphere. Every year, the joint creation of such an evocative work of art is a time when the school demonstrates the common purpose of all associated with it. This radiant composition has managed to arouse deep emotions and to transmit the peace and joy that Christmas should represent, to all who have seen it. The educational value of this project, which involved working on objectives that relate to various disciplines, artistic and of social cooperation, is evident.

The Head Teacher, Mario Zaffanella, said, “I am extremely satisfied because the artistic and creative input, particularly of the parents, is an example of the highest educational value, considering the difficult political, ideological and economic situation we are living through. This nativity scene is not only a representation of the religious festival in its radiant beauty, but is also a moment of reflection for all of the people of Cassano Magnago and for everybody that goes past it. This reflection should focus on the abilities of the people who work in this area, in order to put forward value models as alternatives to depraved consumerism and to the news told by the media, which focuses on insignificant things and does not enhance what is good in a person. If I could, I’d give top marks with honours to everybody, with five stars as a sign of a masterpiece.”

Special thanks go to Lorena and Mario Barrese, and to all of the parents who, together with the teachers and children, dedicated time and energy to complete this project.