Papier-mâché nativity scene by Luigi Guacci and other authors

Straw souls, dresses with focussed pleats, plaster hands. The paper with glue was made sacred on the counter of the workshop of Luigi Guacci (1871-1934), statuary master of papier-mâché, heir to that noble tradition which, between the 19th and 20th centuries, made Lecce one of the major papier-mâché production centers. And Guacci, during his long and prolific career, did his utmost to ensure that art spread: in 1899 he founded a large papier-mâché workshop, the Institute of Plastic Arts, unifying the various shops in a cooperative under the same artistic direction. The master also introduced a notable novelty for the time into the production: the papier-mâché dolls, unbreakable and with crystal eyes, earned him numerous prizes and awards including the honor of knight of merit for work.

The opportunity to admire one of his works is the display of the nativity scene, in the gallery of the former Spedale dello Spirito Santo, on the initiative of the Superintendence of Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Provinces of Brindisi and Lecce. The nativity scene, made in the twentieth century in polychrome papier-mâché, is made up of several figures made mostly by the master, and others that bear the signature of Pasquale Zilli, Francesco Pantaleo and Arturo De Vitis. Owned by the Municipality of Lecce, it is usually kept in the Museo della Cartapesta at the Carlo V Castle.

You can admire the nativity scene on weekdays from 7 to 14.