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.