the most recent
in all the caves
in the big cave
> 2009-2010 THE ESSENES - the sons of light
> 2008-2009 THE ANGEL - 3rd edition
Dreamlike Nativities:
> 2007-2008 BET LEHM - House of Bread
> 2006-2007 LILITH - the first Eve
the "new Nativities":
> 2005-2006 THE CARAVANSERAI- 2nd edition
> 2004-2005 BÉÈR - the well
> 2003-2004 THE ANGEL - 2nd edition
in the first caves
> 2002-'03 SALOMÈ - the unbelieving midwife
> 2001-'02 THE MARKET
Jubilee trilogy:
> 2000-'01 THE PILGRIM KINGS
> 1999-2000 SABBATH - the Jewish Saturday
> 1998-'99 THE ANGEL
historical research:
> 1997-'98 THE CARAVANSERAI
> 1996-'97 THE HOSPITALITY OF THE POOR
the crib grows:
> 1995-'96 THE NOISE OF THE CRAFTS
> 1994-'95 THE THREE KINGS' GIFTS
only in the well
> 1993-'94 THE FAMILY
> 1992-'93 THE COMET
> 1991-'92 THE EARTH AND THE SKY
the first Nativities:
> 1990-'91 THE FIRMAMENT
> 1989-'90 PEACE ON HEART
2019-2020
THE INSTRUMENT

Our narrator shared the date of birth, the first manifestations, the whole public period with Jesus, becoming one of his most faithful, devoted and silent apostles.
It is only thanks to him that the history of Salvation was accomplished, although he himself was against the epilogue chosen by God and communicated to him by Jesus, with whom he also shared death.
He already knew that his memory would be damned and his gesture would not be understood, so he wrote memories that were lost.
His name is Judas Iscariot.
From December 23 2019 to January 12 2020
with an exhibition on the coins of the time of Jesus
It’s time that I introduce myself: my name is Judas, also called “the Hitman”, or, if you prefer, “Iscariot”. You probably know very little about me and that little certainly does me no honor… Perhaps you missed that I was born in the countryside of Jerusalem, less than two hours walk from Bethlehem. And maybe no one told you that the first time Jesus came to Jerusalem, he stopped right at the my Bar Mitzvah’s feast, entertaining the priests and the guests and making his parents worry a lot, believing that he was lost.
I kissed Jesus before entrusting him to the guards. He whispered to me that the thirty denarii, obtained by the priests as a reward, I had to put them in the cash of the Apostles, so that they might have something to eat after his arrest. And he added that we would meet very soon.
It was a surprise for everyone to see that empty tomb. Jesus had risen, and with him me too, his most faithful apostle, born on his own night, in which Jupiter and Saturn joined together giving life to a single great luminous star. In the same way our lives had united on Earth until the end of our days. And we were also together in the resurrection, when finally Jesus opened the doors of Knowledge to me.
The first thing I wanted to see, just risen, was the birth of my “twin” Jesus.
All the honors were given to him: angels, magi, adoring shepherds …
On the contrary, I was alone with my mother: I had never forgiven my father for having abandoned us that night to go to the Bethlehem grotto.
Now, however, my eyes had opened to Knowledge and I could see the great mystery of life: Mary, at that moment, was a mother, exactly like mine. And in every mother, in every part of the world, of any social condition, in whatever situation it is, there is all the sanctity of Mary.
Every regret had disappeared in me. I was serene, in the grace of the Almighty.
This is why I want to show you that Birth as I saw it.

How did you feel?
Now that you know that mine was an extreme act of love and obedience, how do you think I can feel?
I wanted to see my Master’s triumph and I became in history as the worst traitor.
Because of that gesture my memory and that of all my people have been damned for centuries, so much so that even today there is someone who discriminates against those who are part of the People of Judah.
Yet I am serene, it is enough for me to know that I was the instrument of Salvation.
Be serene too, when you are in the right.
Your brother
Judas Iscariot
Curiosity
- A record edition: the 2019-2020 edition of the Presepe nel Pozzo, also thanks to the promotion coordinated by the Municipality of Orvieto, broke every record of turnout and popularity, even surpassing the edition of Christmas 2014 that we thought was unparalleled
- Antonella Ruggiero: the soundtrack of the Nativity scene was the very secular “Ave Maria” by Fabrizio De André performed by Antonella Ruggiero in a live recording granted specifically for our crib by the artist’s producer, it was the perfect musical setting to “close the circle” of the birth of Jesus and that of Judah
- The exhibition on the coins of the time of Jesus: an exhibition on the coins of the time of Jesus enriched this lucky edition, with originals from Palestine of the first century BC. and 1st century A.D. and copies from the coins of the Vatican Apostolic Library, thanks to the collaboration with a generous collector from Orvieto and a well-known publishing house
- A well in Africa: for the duration of the crib, offers were collected for the construction of a large water well in Ethiopia, thanks to the collaboration with Amref
Ideation – setting – creation of characters – graphics: Marco Sciarra | animatronic characters: Andrea Giomaro | faces and special make-up: Andrea Giomaro – Samantha Rose-Harker – David Bracci – Sara Catanzaro – Carlo Diamantini – Erica Buzzi – Special Makeup Studio – Creature Studios – Marisa Paisio – Marco Sciarra – Francesca Montanari | consultant on Jewish names and traditions: Yaron Munza | musical collaboration: Matteo Dragoni | face of the Judas of the promotional material: Giulio Gnagnarini