  We report optical long-slit spectra and direct imaging (ground-based and with
HST) of the pre-planetary nebula (pPN) M2-56 obtained at different epochs. The
optical nebula is composed by shock-excited material distributed in two pairs
of nested lobes with different sizes and surface brightness. The compact,
bright inner lobes (ILs) have an angular size of ~1.5"x1" each and display
closed, bow-shaped ends. The extended, faint outer lobes (OLs), which enclose
the inner ones, have an agular size of ~13"x10". Within the ILs and the OLs the
velocity increases with the distance to the center, however, the ILs show
expansion velocities larger than the OLs. Consistent with the large speeds
reached by the ILs (of up to ~350 km/s at the tips), we have measured the
expansive proper motions of the knots (~0.03 arcsec/yr) by comparing two-epoch
HST images. Moreover, we have discovered remarkable changes with time in the
continuum and line emission spectrum of M2-56. In 1998, we detected a burst of
Halpha emission from the nebula nucleus that is interpreted as an indication of
a dense, fast (~350-500 km/s) bipolar wind from the nebula's core (referred to
as "F1-wind"). Such a wind has been recently ejected (after 1989) probably as a
short-duration mass-loss event. Our data also reveal an optically thick,
compact structure (cocoon?) and a HII region around the central star that
result from further post-AGB mass-loss after the F1-wind. Recent brightening of
the scattered stellar continuum as well as an increase of scattered Halpha
emission along the lobes is reported, both results pointing to a decrease of
the optical depth of the circumstellar material enshrouding the star. The data
presented here unveil the complex post-AGB mass-loss history of this object,
whose rapid evolution is driven by multiple episodes of mass outflow, not
regularly spaced in time... (abridged).
