Santons et Crèche provençale de Noël

Romain Rodriguez, santonniers from Gard, invites you to come and take the time to immerse yourself in the Provençal tradition with his large Christmas nativity scene.

From the end of November, it is in the church of Comps that the mystery of Christmas takes shape. Romain Rodriguez's large Christmas crib mixes with Provençal tradition, where the story of a birth associated with the magic of Christmas will amaze you.

For several years, he has offered a visit to the church of Comps of a vast nativity scene, unique and different every year. All the codes of tradition are represented there, the Provençal landscapes, the clothes, the trades of yesteryear ... Each scene is subtly arranged in the spirit of an authentic Provençal nativity scene.

Let yourself be carried away by the dream like a child!

>> Opening hours:
– Every Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 14:00 p.m. to 17:30 p.m.
– During the Christmas school holidays: Open every day of the week from 14 p.m. to 17:30 p.m.
– Open on December 25 from 15:00 p.m. to 17:30 p.m.

> The santonier, Romain Rodriguez:
“I have been a nativity scene maker and santon maker for several years, recently certified as an Artisan d’Art but passionate about it since my earliest childhood.

From the age of 8 I imagine, I create and make my own decor in the family home, and since 2007 in the village church. I seek to remain faithful to the Provençal tradition while offering a nativity scene in a very personal style.

​Since 2012, I have been creating my own santons, from making plaster molds to clay santons, then fired, painted and decorated by me, in an unusual format of 9 cm.”

>> Discover his santons: https://www.santonsromainrodriguez.com/

> The history of this crib

The large Provençal nativity scene in Comps was born in the summer of 2007 when Romain began to think about his next creation.

His productions, different each year both in size and in the evolution of the stagings, are the fruit of a real passion for nativity scenes, a passion born in childhood. He was 8 years old for his first production!
Until then, he would set up a large nativity scene in the family home every year. Only family, friends, and neighbors could admire it.

The constant encouragement pushed him to open it to a greater number of people.
He naturally approached the mayor of Comps who quickly suggested that he carry it out in the village church.

And the adventure begins.
The first year the nursery measured 21 m2; ten years later, the surface area is around 100 m2!

All the decors are imagined and designed by Romain throughout the year.
The scenes depicted are those of daily life in Provence in the past.
From October onwards, he patiently and meticulously installed, with great attention to detail, all the elements of the decor, made by himself or collected in the Compiègne countryside.

Today the nativity scene has become a must at Christmas. Many visitors come to take the time to immerse themselves in a timeless world, where Romain has managed to put all the necessary details to make it come alive. So much so that the visitor is able to hear the passage of the transhumance or the people talking on the market square.

Romain seems to give life to each of the characters, to each of the scenes...

You can come and discover this ephemeral Christmas work, it can be visited from the last weekend of November to the last weekend of January.