Born in Palermo in 1797, he is one of the greatest Italian sculptors. His artistic activity was very fruitful. After initially training in Rome, he opened his own sculpture workshop in Piazza Sant’Onofrio, Palermo. Ignazio Marabitti had numerous public and private commissions throughout the island: Syracuse, Enna, Catania, Messina, Palermo, Ragusa, Trapani. For the Monreale Cathedral, in Bishop Testa’s building sites, he was involved in the reconstruction of the porticoed space following the 1770 collapse, based on a design by Antonio Romano, and in the creation of several works. These works include a marble altarpiece with the Glory of St Benedict (1776), made for the Chapel of St Benedict (the altarpiece replaced a fresco by Novelli), as well as the marble sculptures for the funeral monument of Archbishop Francesco Testa (1773), commissioned by King Ferdinand III of Bourbon, also located in the Chapel of St Benedict.
