Talking about the Italian Baroque often feels too broad—and sometimes oversimplified. While Baroque architecture can be found in every region of Italy, each area has its own distinct interpretation, with unique details that unmistakably reflect the local identity. Cities like Rome, Lecce, Naples, and Venice are the most iconic examples of this style, which has long been associated with the Italian aesthetic.

But it’s in Sicily that the Baroque takes on a particularly deep-rooted and expressive form. Here, it evolves across generations, producing a wide range of architectural and decorative styles—thanks in part to the island’s abundant and diverse natural materials. In the coming months, we’ll take a closer look at the Val di Noto, but today we focus on a more ornamental dimension of this artistic movement: the extraordinary work of Giacomo Serpotta, considered the greatest stucco artist in Italian art history.

Stucco is an intricate technique that relies on the quick drying of lime and plaster applied over a wood and metal framework. To shape expressive faces, flowing garments, and vivid narrative scenes from such a medium is already challenging—but Serpotta achieved something exceptional.

His first major innovation was introducing a polished finish to his sculptures—using a blend of marble dust and slaked lime to create a lustrous, marble-like surface. Stylistically, while influenced by Bernini - especially works like the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa and the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni -Serpotta carved out his own language. In his compositions, figures seem to break free from the walls, winding around moldings and friezes, stretching outward, even soaring through space. His work captures motion and tension, much like in Bernini’s Cornaro Chapel, where the viewer becomes part of the scene unfolding in theatrical, almost cinematic tableaux.

In Serpotta’s oratories, everything seems alive - each figure animated, each gesture deliberate. The interplay of pure white tones, subtly varied by changing daylight, directs the viewer’s eye with clarity and precision. These interiors are a masterclass in dramatic storytelling, emotion, and technical skill.

Nowhere is this more striking than in the Oratory of the Rosary in Santa Cita, Palermo - perhaps the crowning achievement of Serpotta’s career. In 1685, he was commissioned to decorate the chapel of the Compagnia del Rosario. Here, he brings together the depiction of the fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary, the theme of Christian virtue, and the commemoration of the Battle of Lepanto - a defining victory of Christianity over the Ottoman Empire.

Dozens of cherubs animate the space, gliding across decorative frames and borders, surrounding the bas-reliefs that tell the stories of the Mysteries and the battle itself. The allegorical Virtues, so lifelike and present, appear more like full-fledged statues than molded stucco. The entire composition is bathed in a radiant light that, especially in late morning, makes the space blaze with brilliance.

Through his decorations in ten oratories and ten churches in Palermo alone, Giacomo Serpotta became - perhaps without realizing it - a forerunner of the Rococo style. More importantly, he pioneered a kind of ornate decoration that would later find great success in Central Europe, often referred to as patisserie for its richness and intricacy.