Mystery Thieves or Just Pranksters?

It's the season of the Nativity and Via Coi in Cencenighe has had numerous families set up their wares and creative designs dedicated to the little Jesus in a manger, including a fishing version of the scene made by some vacationing Venetians, a distinctly water culture. See last year's post for background and photos of the nativities.

This year even more displays have dotted the historic street. But then the thieves (or rather pranksters?) struck. Two days ago, one family discovered they were missing a sheep. Another house found a random donkey on their stoop that no one knows who is the rightful owner. Yesterday a nativity was reversed and all the figurines disappeared. The nativity with the missing sheep, which then had a sign asking for some collaboration in the return on the sheep, saw a cow go missing, too. Kids are roaming the street looking for their missing ceramic and straw animals. Families are now putting their nativities somewhere safe inside the four walls of their houses.

It's sad to see what started as a spontaneous event of fun participation become threatened what is probably a few teenagers that are being stupid and trying to just peeve a few families. But now I believe that this street will not display so many manger scenes in future years. They will be afraid of possible theives. I hope I will be proved wrong.

Burn Last Year's Woes

In the town of Cencenighe in the Agordino, the locals celebrate the entrance of the new year with hands-on fire.

Several brave individuals hike up to the top of all the visible mountain peaks and make giant bonfires to be seen below, in town. Those include places like Cime Pape (2503 m/8212 ft), Monte Pelsa (2255 m/7398 ft) and many others around and in between. The bonfires begin at sunset the night before the Epiphany. This year, that occured on January 5th.

In town, the neighborhoods and individual streets gather its people together to light their own bonfires at the same time. The idea is that they are burning all their woes, problems, issues and misfortunes from last year in those big flames that rise at the beginning of the new year. They will start the new year with a clean plate, and hopefully it will be a better one.

Cencenighe center with bonfires in the lower fields of a fraction of town, Bastiani, and Monte Pelsa above

Then fireworks accompany the event from the peaks as well as a few shot up from the town fires.

Cencenighe river front, bonfire at the Cordevole river bank

Neighborhood "Inter"-bonfire in all its glory

It's impressive to think about the souls who climb up the mountain to set the upper flames aglow. After a heavy hike like what they have to do to get up to those altitudes, your sweat turns to ice in about 5 minutes, once your body stops moving. Honestly I don't know how they stay warm up there, waiting for sunset. I know that they take wine and grappa to drink, but I still can't believe that's enough to stay warm for more than half an hour.

Then, the same hikers have to come back down the mountain in the black of night. It takes about 2-3 hours to get down those mountains on snowshoes. Skiing down, the faster solution, is too dangerous without any light.

After the fires have all waned, the locals crowd into the town hall, Nof Filò, and eat gnocchi and polenta that the old ladies prepare. It's offered by the Comune (Town), so everything is free. It's a real event! Everyone is warm, slightly drunk and full of comradery. They dedicate a special table to the hikers that went to the mountain peaks. They are considered the guests of honor in this situation.

I've seen this event several times over the years and each year they are adding more bonfires and locations. It is growing in its importance.

Most of all, it's authentic, not turistic and as the Italians say, "suggestivo" (evocative).

Approaching Inter's bonfire along the hillside

Nativities Galore

Along the most historic street in Cencenighe Agordino, Via Coi, there seems to be a nativity outside of virtually every house. It's interesting that the magi have already arrived. They came early to the baby Jesus, here in the Dolomites.