Born into a peasant family in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, Giovanni Bosco spent his entire life in this small coastal village. With little formal education, he first worked as a shepherd alongside his father, then as a labourer in marble quarries after his father’s early death.
Convicted of sheep theft, he spent two years in prison, where he learned of the murder of his two brothers, who were involved in Mafia networks. Deeply shaken by this event, he underwent a period of psychiatric hospitalization. Upon returning to his village, isolated and marginalized, he turned to painting and drawing, finding in art a new form of expression.
He soon began to take over the walls of Castellammare del Golfo, transforming public spaces into the setting for his personal universe. Hearts, robots, knife blades, and humanoid figures populate his work, combining intimate symbols, anxiety, and a fantastical imagination. He signed his creations as “Dottore di tutto” (“Doctor of Everything”), asserting an artistic identity beyond established conventions.
From 2007 onwards, with the support of a local artist, his work began to receive recognition. Soon after, Giovanni Bosco died of cancer, leaving behind a unique body of work in “street art.”