Greccio Culture

Greccio's culture is organised around a single invention and the walking route that leads to it.

The nativity scene is not a local custom here but a point of origin. Francis devised the first living presepe in this village in December 1223, and the tradition continues in the town to this day — which means the rest of Italy's Christmas is, in a direct line, descended from here.

The Franciscan identity is active rather than commemorative. The town hosts a sanctuary founded by Francis, forms part of the Cammino di Francesco, and receives walkers on that route as a matter of course.

Its membership of I Borghi più belli d'Italia is recent — since 2016 — which is a reminder that the recognition is newer than the fame.

And the comune's shape shapes its life: the famous part sits at 705 metres while the town hall and most residents are 300 metres below, so the sanctuary village and the working village are not the same place.