In the XVII Century, the Counter-Reformation
dictated that church interiors should be decorated with splendid
marbles and magnificent furnishings. But the Po Plain yielded
only clay, making brick the only building material available.
G. Fassi, one of Carpi's most important artistic figures,
solved this problem by creating the art of "mischia",
imitating marble using plaster fired at 300°C. The town's
churches contain jewels of the art of scagliola, with copies of
sacred pictures by famous painters, still lives, imitations of
the finest lace, or perspective scenes with floors and pillars,
in black and white or colour.
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