The very special crucifix – a depiction of Christ nailed to the cross – that we encounter at this site was not planned and erected as a small sacred monument for religious reasons, but rather was built for a completely different purpose: namely, solely as a film prop. The short stories by Giovanni Guareschi (1908 to 1968), the spiritual father of 'Don Camillo' and 'Peppone,' have been adapted into several feature films; and one of the pugnacious priest's traits was to engage in dialogue with Christ at the high altar. User 'Raffaela Satta Boelle81' has described the origins of the film prop in detail in his well-researched article.
The Talking Christ is undoubtedly, together with Don Camillo and Peppone, the third protagonist of the Guareschi saga. It was specially sculpted, as a prop, commissioned by Rizzoli before filming began. The face of Jesus Christ was made in five different interchangeable expressions, depending on the scenes of the film, although only one remains today. But let's go step by step. The “Talking Christ” was sculpted and designed by the Veronese set designer Bruno Avesani with the help of a carpenter from Brescello: Emilio Bianchini. They used light pine wood for the Christ, while for the cross they used light balsa wood, further lightened by emptying it inside, all to facilitate movement during filming. In the end the reproduction was 1.65 meters tall and weighed only 13 kg (a weight that Fernandel appreciated very much as he often had to hold it in his hands for stage needs). At the end of filming the third film, the parish priest of Brescello at the time, Don Dino Alberici, asked that it could remain in the Church of Maria Nascente where it is still visible in the left side chapel of the entrance to the Church. Much later, towards the end of the 1980s, following the inauguration of the Peppone and Don Camillo Museum, the Crucifix rekindled the spirits of Guareschi's memory. The reason for the dispute was the possibility that the prop could be moved from the Church of Brescello to the new Museum that had just been inaugurated. The curia and the parish priest of Brescello at the time, Don Giuliano Cugini, firmly opposed the move, giving rise to a back-and-forth in the newspapers of the time. In short, years pass but, in these parts, the spirit never changes..
Don Camillo prayed and conversed with Christ before this cross. A small poster next to the cross reminds visitors that Don Camillo heard Jesus' answers and asks what they hear from God today. An invitation to linger.
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