A statue of Saint George is carried throughout the comune to bring good fortune, and ward of evils, but primarily to protect the comune from future eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. The processions are normally accompanied by local devotees of the Christian 'sect' of Saint George carrying the large statue of Saint George aloft at the head of the procession. It is said by locals that in the 1630s, the church of St. Maria del Principle received as a gift from Emmanuela Caracciolo Pignatelli, Duchess of Montecalvo, a new statue of St. George, half bust, and that is what they venerate today. However the statue depicts Saint George in crusader costume, so must date post-13th century. Whether the procession dates from the 8th century, or the 16th, it is now part of a long, well entrenched tradition embraced by local Sangiorgesi.