Molfetta dresses in wonder with “The Christmas of Wonders”. And the wonder will also be that of the spectators of “The Conversion of a Horse” staged tomorrow, Sunday 18 December, at 20:30 in the Cathedral in Molfetta. 23 living paintings reproduce famous masterpieces by Michelangelo Merisi from Caravaggio, thanks to actors, dancers and models who become the protagonists of the project with their bodies. The performers of the show The Conversion of a Horse, built with the tableaux vivants technique, reproduce Merisi’s canvases under the eyes of the spectators, with the help of props and polychrome drapes, generating a great emotional impact and a suggestive force scenic.
A single cut of light illuminates the scene framed in an imaginary frame, with visual changes rhythmically punctuated by the music of Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi, Sibelius. The work of body theater was born as a didactic project in the Luigi Vanvitelli Faculty of Architecture in 2006, already protagonist in the Capodimonte Museum, then on tour in museums, galleries, squares, churchyards, alternating with the other performance by Salvi for Miracle, dedicated to sacred newsstands of Neapolitan school devotion. Admission fee (€5 ticket). Info: 339 775 8173 / 349 230 8203. Presale tickets for The Conversion of a Horse at DUC Molfetta associated shops: Emozioni, via Adele Cairoli 17 b; Palombella hardware store, via Baccarini 13; Cartoon Store, via Giaquinto 7; Expert Gadaleta, Corso Umberto 25; Annagrazia, Corso Umberto, 11b; La Trottola, C.so Umberto, 63; Heart Home Evolution, via Mario Pagano, 18; Sasso Calzature, Corso Umberto, 14; Smart, Corso Umberto, 83; Tatulli Pharmacy, viale Papa Giovanni Paolo II, 16/F; Panna12, via Berlinguer, Mixer café, viale Papa Giovanni Paolo II, 89.
So the Christmas of Wonders in Molfetta comes to life, a billboard designed for all age groups, which the municipal administration and the Department of Commerce of the city of Molfetta wanted to design through many initiatives. The project of the Urban District of Commerce of the city favors the great values of non-violence and solidarity, tolerance and peaceful coexistence among peoples, without forgetting the children, who are the great protagonists of this magical time of year.
Three sections make up the architecture of the program: Theater for Children, Music and Dance, Events and Artists, whose artistic direction is entrusted to the cultural association CIPS and its president Pantaleo Annese, in collaboration with Francesco Tammacco, consultant and expert on events. «Our Christmas of Wonders – claims the president of the ass. Cips Annese – it wants to be a caress, a cuddle to our city and beyond, it wants to be a showcase for Molfetta traders and their professionalism. The artistic programming, chosen by me in concert with the expert Francesco Tammacco, involves every age group and every kind of art, all with the aim of understanding the artistic attraction as an investment and not entertainment, for the creation of a solid commercial sector, so that in the shopping streets of Molfetta every Christmas can be our city’s economic driving force».
A swarm of appointments for all tastes. Among the main attractions of Christmas in Molfetta is also the attention to spirituality with ‘Theorema Bethlehem’ and the exaltation of food and wine excellence with ‘Wine Christmas-Le strada del vino’. On Monday 19 December, at 18:00, in an itinerant route from Corso Umberto to the Villa Comunale, Theorema Bethlehem will be on stage, which recalls the seven hundred years of the crib of San Francesco in Greggio. The characters are extras who recite passages from the Old Testament and ancient Christmas stories, among them the actors Rosa Tarantino, Cosimo Boccassini, Isabella Ragno, Gabriella Caputi, Elisabetta de Trizio, Rosanna de Candia, Maria Teresa Caprioli, Carlo Salvemini. This admirable theatrical performance, by the ass. cultural Il Carro dei Comedians directed by Francesco Tammacco and the music of the association Volta’s Noteis dedicated to the figure of Mary and to women who, like Mary, have abandoned themselves to the sacredness of the divine announcement, such as Mary’s monologue, taken from “In the name of the mother” by Erri DeLuca.
The festive and convivial moment is instead dedicated to the best wines. ‘Wine Christmas-The wine roads’ winds along Corso Umberto from 21 to 23 December, from 7.00 pm, with interludes of poetry and music, the stands set up by the 2 Mc Spettacolo and Wine Food association of Molfetta and the presence of precious cellars of the nectar of the Apulian territory and Basilicata, including Cantine Otto Raggi, Ladogana-60 Passi, Cantine Santoro, Cantine del Notaio, and the Italian one.
A team of sommeliers, coordinated by Valentino Faccitondo, is present among the stands, with a tempting offer of chestnuts or sweets typical of the Molfetta Christmas tradition. While people drink an excellent glass, extraordinary interpreters from the world of opera perform from the ‘singing balconies’ such as the maestros Antonio Stragapede, Marilena Gaudio, Stella Roselli, Onofrio Salvemini and still others, interpreting famous arias and Christmas songs. And then again street artists, stilt walkers, jugglers, concerts declined in various genres, from blues (N-JOY in Piazza Principe di Napoli on 21 December at 20:00) to bossa nova, from jazz to ethnic, there is for all musical palates. Without forgetting the lovers of tradition, with storytellers and pipers, and of Santa Allegrezza with the return of Giovannangelo de Gennaro, an important collaborator of Vinicio Caposselain concert with ‘The Refinery of Joy‘ (Piazza Principe di Napoli at 20:00 on 20 December).
The Councilor for Commerce of the City of Molfetta and President of the Molfetta DUC, Carmela Minutepoints out: «in the Christmas of Wonders program, we have privileged the celebration full of spirituality, so that everyone can remember the value of peace and coexistence in solidarity. But above all we wanted to help the proximity trade of our operators who have been severely tested by the pandemic with these initiatives that favor purchases, without asking for sponsors or any kind of contribution from the traders. Our effort wants to give people back the pleasure of shopping in the center after a long time».