Catanian puppets such as this are the tallest and heaviest type of Sicilian puppet, less flexible than the smaller puppets from Palermo. Made of wood, as tall as 140cms, weighing as much as 35 kilos, they usually have heavy metal armour and are operated by men standing on a bridge behind the backdrop, holding the heavy gauge rod which passes through the head and supports the body. Another rod operates the sword arm whilst the shield is worked by a string. Figures like this were used in traditional Sicilian puppet show or ‘opera dei pupi’, dating from the 19th century, which dramatised the conflict between Christians and Saracens with a lot of action and noisy sword fighting. This type of show is still performed in Sicily for tourists today.