Salt nativity scenes are one of Rio Maior’s biggest attractions at Christmas time. This year, the exhibition features 41 nativity scenes, made with more than 60 tons of salt.
Cristina and Casemiro take about a day to transform a block of salt into figures like these. The pieces of the largest nativity scene on display were designed by Cristina Alves. This year, 60 tons of salt collected in the summer resulted in 41 nativity scenes, of the most varied sizes.
Domingos is a sculptor, and moved to Rio Maior 3 years ago. Since then, the material of choice for building pieces has been salt from the salt pans.
“Some think it’s salting, but it has nothing to do with salting. This is food salt that is wet, then placed in a wooden mold, made into a block and left in the sun normally”, explains Domingos Broa, sculptor.
Without moisture, the figures can last a lifetime or serve as a seasoning, if scraped onto food, like traditional salt cheese.
