Restored steamer trunk with Nativity scene diorama

A multi-year project: a large-scale Nativity diorama set in Bethlehem, built inside an antique steamer trunk over 100 years old. Started in Summer 2021, we completed the diorama in Winter 2025.

The trunk originally belonged to Rici’s great-uncle’s mother, her initials G.M. still carved on the lid. It was destined to go with her to America, before she changed her mind and left it empty in a room that has remained sealed since 1925.

The diorama (still a work in progress) includes:

• Sky: LED-lit night sky with stars and comet in the trunk’s lid.
• Terrain: Cement base with Roman road, dunes and hills for shepherds.
• City: Handmade Bethlehem buildings with finished interiors, roofs, main square, terraces and porches. And, of course, the stable where Jesus Christ was born.
• Details: Miniature furniture, fabrics, tools, clay jars, lanterns, bonfires and statues. Warm LED lighting simulates candles, forges and ambient firelight.
• Oasis: Epoxy resin pond with palm trees, a fisherman, traveller’s tent, shepherds with their flocks and surrounding desert details.

Every detail has been carefully crafted, researched and placed to make Bethlehem feel alive: not a static backdrop, but a bustling town on that holy night.

The project is still ongoing, with new elements added each year, gradually transforming the trunk into a complete miniature Bethlehem.