Oratorio di San Domenico

Palermo


Dominating this small chapel is Anthony Van Dyck's fantastic blue-and-red altarpiece, The Virgin of the Rosary with St Dominic and the Patronesses of Palermo. Van Dyck completed the work in Genoa in 1628, after leaving Palermo in fear of the plague. Also gracing the chapel are Giacomo Serpotta's amazingly elaborate stuccoes (1710–17), vivacious and whirling with figures. Serpotta's name meant 'lizard' or 'small snake', and he often included these signature reptiles in his work; see if you can find one!


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