Provençal Christmas nativity scene in Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

Arlette Bertello's great Provençal nativity scene in Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

One of Provence's most beautiful nativity scenes is in Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a small seaside town on the Camargue coast and a pilgrimage destination for Roma, in a region proud of its Provençal identity and culture.

Arles-born Arlette Bertello has installed her nativity scene each year since 1998 at the Relais Culturel, opposite the bullring. On entering the room, visitors discover a rich world of santons, full of vivid, colourful scenes.

In this large panoramic display, the eye moves from scene to scene, lingering over a landscape detail or a character's expression. Are there 500 santons, or 1,000? Its creator does not count them. The display is easier to measure: 50 m². Arlette Bertello could add a few more square metres to show the rest of the collection she began at 17. It changes each year: she and Arles santon maker Henri Vézolles imagine new scenes, which he models in clay. Figures also come from Isoline Fontanille, Sylvie de Marans, Canut, Gayraud d'Agniel, Karine Fraisse and Christian Gayraud.

Arlette Bertello often welcomes visitors herself, sharing a warm, moving moment. The display is generally open at weekends. Before travelling, check with Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer tourist office, telephone 04 90 97 82 55.

Photographs of Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer's Christmas nativity scene (2019): slideshow

Photographs of Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer's Christmas nativity scene in 2011

Getting to Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer