Known in the San Cataldo dialect as Sampauluna, the eleven Apostles (Judas excluded) are the protagonists of a unique ritual that concludes Holy Week in the town of Caltanissetta. These imposing papier-mâché figures, dressed in sumptuous tunics and cloaks decorated in the ancient Spanish style, walk along Corso Vittorio Emanuele thanks only to the movements of a hidden bearer inside the metal frame: through tiny holes, one can just glimpse the eyes and the legs that bring the simulacrum to life.
The origin of the Sampaoloni dates back to the 17th century, when the tradition of the “Giants,” coming from Flanders and introduced to Sicily during the Viceroyalty, merged with the local Easter cult. Every Easter Sunday, the Sampaoloni – after greeting along the way the statues of Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary – proceed toward the chapel of the Risen Christ in a moving ’Ncuntru of faith and folklore, punctuated by the sound of bells and the bursting of firecrackers. Restored in 1993 thanks to the “Giuseppe Amico Medico” Association and protected by the Superintendency of Caltanissetta, the giants still today carry on their shoulders the weight of a story that unites devotion, folk art, and artisanal ingenuity, offering tourists and visitors a visual and spiritual spectacle unlike any other in inland Sicily.