Giovanni Battista Vaccarini was born in Palermo in 1702. He came from a family of artisans related to architects, studied the new Roman architecture and embarked on a religious career.
During his experience in Catania, he brought his ideas to life through an innovative language. He merged the Baroque style, which he learned in Rome, with local art, and became an advocate for balanced polychromy. He created veritable masterpieces, surrounded by a school of followers and students.
In Catania he oversaw the courtyard of the University building, the Senatorial Palace, the façade of the Cathedral, the Fountain of the Elephant and the Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey).
