CHRISTIANITY | Conference “Nativity scenes in Barcelona: cultural and religious heritage in public space”

The conference, “Nativity scenes in Barcelona: cultural and religious heritage in public space”, organised by the Religious Affairs office in collaboration with the Museu Etnològic i de Cultures del Món (MUEC), took place on 21 December as part of the celebration of 800 years of the nativity scene tradition. It took the form of a conference in which participants reflected on the cultural and religious symbology of this tradition and was followed by a guided tour of the permanent exhibition of nativity scenes in the MUEC.

Lluís Garcia Petit, managing director of the ‘Institute for Intangible Cultural Heritage (IPACIM), moderated the three presentations and the subsequent debate. There were interventions from Avi Astor, sociologist and member of the Sociology of Religion research group at the UAB; Núria Garcia Múrcia, member of the Catalan Federation of Nativity Scene Builders; and Esteve Caramés, director of Cultural Programmes at the Barcelona Institute of Culture (ICUB).