Marrocco was born in 1939 in Galatina (Lecce), an art city in the Salento area of Italy. Perceiving his inborn artistic bent, his parents apprenticed him at a very early age first to a tin-smith's workshop and soon afterward to that of a master stone-cutter who, amongst other work, built sepulchral chapels for nobles. Marrocco's notable skill in handling materials and his extraordinary prowess in drawing, almost necessarily influenced his choice of studies. The young man therefore attended Gioacchino Toma, the State Institute of Art in Galatina, where he created his first sculptures and his first works, showing a strong inclination towards an informal use of materials. Encouragement arrived with commissions like that obtai...