“Parabiago, sets fire to the paper nativity scene in the church: the flames damage a 17th century organ, making the building unusable,” translated from “Parabiago, dà fuoco al presepe di carta nella chiesa: le fiamme danneggiano un organo del ‘600, edificio inagibile,” by Orlando Mastrillo, la Repubblica, December 15, 2023 (thanks to Medforth):
A column of black smoke was seen coming out of the entrance: the inhabitants’ attempts to limit the damage were useless. A North African was stopped, spotted with a burning stick in his hand, wandering around the country
A fire seriously damaged the church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Santa Elisabetta di Villastanza, a hamlet in the municipality of Parabiago, this afternoon, Friday.
The flames apparently started from the nativity scene housed in the religious structure, set by a man of North African origins who then ran away through the streets of the hamlet, stopped shortly afterwards by local police officers as he wandered around in a state of confusion.
As soon as the people present in the square in front noticed the smoke coming out of the main door, the firefighters were called while some citizens living in the area attempted to put out the flames with fire extinguishers, but to no avail.
The paper nativity scene caused high flames and smoke which damaged the wooden parts and also a 17th century organ. It took the Legnano firefighters a while to get under control of the fire.
Several witnesses said they saw a young man leaving the church with a burning stick in his hand and in a short time he was identified and stopped by the local Parabiaghese officers.
Mayor Raffaele Cucchi arrived on site to see what happened with his own eyes and expressed harsh words of condemnation for the gesture: “It is an attack on our traditions, our religion and our culture. The fire caused extensive damage to the seventeenth-century organ and to the entire church which will now not be available to the faithful of Villastanza a few days before Christmas.”