Mario Ferrante was born in Rome in 1957. When a child, he moved with his family to Brazil, where he received his early education and began drawing and painting in the studio of an artist in São Paulo.

In 1970, he moved back to Italy and settled in Benevento, his parents’ hometown, where he still lives and works. He attended senior high school specializing in art in Benevento and, later, the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. The strong bond with Brazil was not broken, but strengthened by regular visits to the members of his family who had remained there. His early training focused on the making of sacred art; an important activity, the results of which can still be seen mostly in Benevento and the surrounding area.

Since the mid-1980s, his work has been regularly shown at national and international exhibitions, which has led to him working with important art galleries. His works are to be found in numerous public and private collections.

Amongst the most significant milestones of his career are his first solo show in the cloisters of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte in Rome (1977), the exhibition at the Museo del Sannio in Benevento (1990), his participation in the Alitalia for Art project, with exhibitions in the Alitalia Freccia Alata Room at the airports John F. Kennedy in New York, Milan Malpensa and Rome Leonardo Da Vinci, an exhibition at the National Art Club in New York (1999), the exhibition Maschere ed anime (Masks and Souls) at the Maschio Angioino in Naples (2003), Ubique vacuum at Palazzo Venezia in Rome (2007), Le ombre della croce del Sud (The Shadows of the Southern Cross) at the Maschio Angioino (2007), Sinfonia di Berlino. Negro no coração (Berlin Symphony. Negro no coração) at the Embassy of Brazil in Germany (2010), Work in Progress. A bênção da mãe de santo at the Museo del Sannio in Benevento (2010), Ventre molle. Napoli come Rio (Soft Belly. Naples like Rio) at the Castel dell’Ovo in Naples (2013), Oltre il cielo. L’aria ed il cuore (Beyond the Sky. The Air and the Heart) at the Embassy of Brazil in Italy (2013) and L’amore al tempo delle stelle cadenti (Love in the Time of Shooting Stars) at the Italian Cultural Institute in Prague (2016).

Furthermore, he has made important memorial bronze works, such as the sculpture dedicated to the Lombard Prince Arechis II, in Benevento city center (2010) and the group dedicated to the Massacre of Pontelandolfo, also in Benevento, which he created on the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Unity of Italy (2011).