Massimo Sammarco was born in Acerra (NA) on 17 June 1974. In 1981 finally, after various second thoughts, the
family moved to Rome. The last of six children, he follows in the family footsteps, since already in the early 1970s the first
two older sisters lived in the capital. The move took place in 1980-81 for almost the entire family.
It was the Capital that allowed the child to come into contact with a self-taught artist who, recognising in him
talent and a keen eye for the use of colour, encouraged him to pursue the path of painting.
painting. The artist, Corebbo Sciarra, who was around 83 years old at the time, immediately became part of the family circle of friends and was the godfather of the artist.
family and later became the godfather of a mutual friend. Corebbo Sciarra, already a widower, during friendly
afternoon coffee with Annunziata Vilma, Massimo’s mother, guides the child by teaching him how to create in oil the
oil of his first still lifes: the first work, in chronological order, dates back to 1982 and is entitled The Innocence
for it was painted when he was only eight years old.
The presence of this friendly figure inspired in the young Massimo a desire for knowledge of art. Si
found himself walking through the Imperial Forums one day when, feeling a strong urge to pursue his studies,
he decided to resume them and enrolled in 2001 at the State Art School in Cinecittà. He had in fact left his studies to
work as an apprentice in various shops in the heart of Rome as an art hair stylist. He graduated in 2005
enrolling immediately afterwards in Scenography studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, specialising in
Cultural Heritage and Archaeology at the University of Naples Suor Orsola Benincasa and, later, finishing the
course at Tor Vergata University in Rome with an interdisciplinary degree thesis focused on literary art
and electronic music.