The re-foundation of Palermo had taken place at the end of the sixteenth century as part of a utopian ambition to create the ‘Theatro del Sole’. The urban space of the Spanish period had become an open-air theatrical scene. Those exteriors were matched by the increasing complexity of the sculpted textures of the unique palatial interiors, and above all, churches, containing an overwhelming profusion of polychrome marble incrustations and ornamental stuccos. Giacomo Serpotta, who was active from the last decades of the seventeenth century, was an absolute and unrivalled master of such pieces. Furthermore, Filippo Juvarra (1676-1736), one of the most important theatrical scenic designers of eighteenth-century Europe, was also a Sicilian who collaborated with Scarlatti on many occasions throughout his career.