The Passion or the Lamentation of Caltabellotta
The author of the eight terracotta statues of the Caltabellotta "Passion" is not known: there are many hypotheses about his identity.
"La Passione" or "Il Compianto" of Caltabellotta are a group of eight polychrome terracotta statues, life size, kept in the chapel of the church of Sant'Agostino, which can be considered the most important work of art of Caltabellotta and perhaps the entire surrounding area.
The most accredited hypothesis about the author of the "Passion" is that these were made around 1552 by Antonino Ferraro, known as "Imbarracucina", commissioned by the Augustinian fathers or Rectors of the Confraternity of San Lorenzo. At that time the animated representations of the "Mysteries" of the Passion of Christ were being replaced with sculptural groups depicting the individual stations of the Via Crucis. In support of this hypothesis there is a writing by Gioacchino Di Marzo which cites a document of 1552 by the notary Antonino di Blasio, unfortunately lost.
A second hypothesis argues that to realize, at least in part, the statues may have been a painter and sculptor of excellent hand, Pellegrino de Plazza, born around 1560, a pupil of Antonino Ferraro and a contemporary of his son.
The third hypothesis is a popular oral tradition in our days. It tells of a persecuted stranger, hosted by the Augustinian monks of the convent of Sant'Agostino, who would have performed the work during the night as a thank you for their hospitality. According to this legend, the statues were made of clay, all whole, and set up and fired on site. In reality it seems that the terracottas have been modeled in pieces and assembled later, but despite this this story is the one that finds more consensus among the citizens of Caltabellotta.
