Stucco for words

In Antakalnis, the suburb of palaces and hills to the northwest of the centre, there is one place above all that “made it happen” – and drew the moneyed crowds from the Sapieha and Slusko families to the area – the church of St Peter and Paul, on the riverbank at the base of the Žirmūnai bridge, and a short walk from Gediminas hill. From the outside, the church is impressive enough, but if you’ve had your fill of Polish-style baroque you’d need a compelling reason to make a pitstop at this particular one. That compelling reason is inside, as it turns out. The entire enormous structure is filled, floor to ceiling, with the most delightful and intricate stucco sculptures that would make an Italian drop their jaw. Little wonder, since the sculptures were the work of Italian master sculptor Giovanni Pietro Perti, himself an honorary Vilnius resident, and the interjecting frescoes were made by Albani student Giovanni Maria Galli. The most stunning feature of the baroque marvel is that it is almost entirely in white stucco. It has survived the ravages that have struck Vilnius in wave after wave over the centuries since 1700, more or less intact, and the lack of colour makes the overwhelming designs manageable and digestible in a way that they wouldn’t be had they been laden with saturated hues and gold leaf. Not to be missed, irrsespective of your religious bent, if you have any thread of appreciation of sculpture and rich designs in your body.