“It’s clear that placing a ceramic nativity scene on the seabed in front of the town will attract curiosity and attention…how many millions each year go to see the Sistine Chapel?” asked Alessandro Milanesi, creator of the Problems of Albisola Facebook group.

The idea to have Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus installed off the coast of the Catholic country has been met with support from locals.

“Beautiful idea!”, “Great!”, “It will be a fantastic idea,” were just some of the responses to the Facebook post.

Although one member of the group said residents should be thinking about parking spaces, not cribs.

Despite the occasional unenthused local, the town mayor has come out in support.

“It’s an interesting proposition. In September we can contact the port authority to study the case and check the necessary permissions,” said Franco Orsi, quoted in La Stampa.

“I’m sure that our artists will have the knowledge to achieve it. With zero environmental impact, in my opinion it’s an idea that can have a lot of benefits,” the mayor said.