Monza, 1630, a period of Spanish rule. Pasquale Cicciacalda, a humble shoemaker native of Casoria, widower of the midwife Provvidenza, can not maintain their 12 children (6 pairs of twins) and therefore devises a cunning ploy. Disguised himself and his children as monks, vague with them pretending to be poor monks, asking food and charity.