Traditional sculpture artistry in Lecce

This unique Apulian art has its origin in the 18th century, when the nuns commissioned the reconstruction of the church “Chiesa di Santa Chiara” in Naples. Near completion, their money was running out, but they still had to reconstruct the ceiling decoration. So, they asked the artisans to manufacture it with papier-maché instead of wood and the Cartapesta art was born!

Today, the Cartapesta artists manufacture sculptures like the Blessed Virgin Mary, angels and jewellery, picture frames and vases. In Lecce, the capital of the province Lecce, you find 13 artist’s studios where the papier-maché art is handcrafted. The artwork consists of a wire rack which is layered with up to nine layers of papier-maché.