Intermittent rain. Conflicting clouds. A wind that wanted to rule. People still had their summer clothes tucked away in the wardrobe, wearing only coats and warm jackets, carrying that annoying umbrella - uncomfortable but necessary. Wet shoes, messy hair. Friday, 15 May, was anything but welcoming. This year, the weather did not offer Arte al Centro a gentle embrace. Biella had woken up gloomy - half Silent Hill, half Gotham City - and the mood of the first visitors, as well as that of the journalists arriving in the morning for the press preview, reflected this atmosphere. There was curiosity and enthusiasm, certainly, but the ambience could, in some way, have dampened the thirst for discovery. Then, a sudden gear shift. From the entrance to the shop, starting with the simple introductory words of the guides, the beginning of the tour through the new spaces, exhibitions and artworks ignited a spark of colour. The rainfall was now, to all intents and purposes, entirely outside Cittadellarte, forgotten. Everything had changed. One only had to look closely at the bystanders. Some were listening intently to the meaning of an installation, others were discussing a detail with a colleague, some were taking photos to proudly post on their Instagram profiles, whilst others drifted away from the group to observe an artwork in an intimate, sacred moment. These were different ways of experiencing these moments, but they were united by one element: the writer's impression is that they were at peace. Art had stimulated them, regenerated them, but above all, welcomed them. And it made them feel good. This, as we will shortly discover, is not merely a subjective impression. Arte al Centro, dedicated in this 28th edition to the theme of hospitality, began in this way.

Arte al Centro 2026, the premise
Over the course of the day, more than a thousand people filled the spaces of Cittadellarte for the inauguration of this historic annual showcase, now in its twenty-eighth edition and included in the programme of the 2026 Sustainable Development Festival promoted by ASviS. From morning until late evening, exhibitions, talks, and free activities occupied the Fondazione, as they have done for three decades: a pioneer of socially engaged art, a contemporary museum in the sense of a living place for encounter, participation, and co-design. As mentioned, the central theme of this edition was hospitality, understood as a cultural and civic practice capable of fostering listening and dialogue, paired with a vision of tourism as a tool for awareness and responsibility. This combination guided the entire day and reflects the mission of Cittadellarte: to turn art into an engine for the responsible transformation of society. Arte al Centro 2026 confirms a vocation that Cittadellarte has pursued for nearly thirty years: art is not just a singular mirror of the present, but a plural construction site for the future. With this opening day, which paved the way for an exhibition programme open until 31 December, Fondazione maintains a steady, clear course where art, sustainability and social impact are no longer separate worlds, but stages of the very same journey.

The launch of the Terme Culturali
The Terme Culturali (Cultural Spas) are among the highlight proposals of this edition of the showcase, as evidenced by the substantial public attendance. Curated by Armona Pistoletto and Nazarena Capellaro, it is a project designed to regenerate creative and relational capacities through artistic pathways aimed at groups and businesses. Over the course of the day, the project's experiential workshops were presented: ManifestAZIONE (ManifestACTION), an experiential painting workshop focused on decision-making and organisational processes; cerAMICA (cerAMICS), a pottery workshop dedicated to care, collaboration and the value of working phases; MANOscritto (MANUscript), a graphology workshop on the different communication and relationship methods within groups; and fotoGRAFIA interiorista (interiorist photoGRAPHY), an exercise in observation and awareness through images and reflection on the present. Furthermore, participants who attended at least two of the afternoon workshops received a complimentary Key of the Mindful Traveller, created in collaboration with Boglietti Gioielliere, as a token to seal that participation.

Hotel Cittadellarte
One of the most highly anticipated new features of the 2026 edition was the opening of the Hotel Cittadellarte, an accommodation facility conceived as an artistic device. The 31 rooms hosted the exhibition L’ospite Inatteso (The Unexpected Guest) by Giuseppe Stampone, curated by Ilaria Bernardi: each room features a work by the artist, transforming the hotel into an exhibition space to be experienced through the stay itself. The project explored the theme of hospitality in its multiple dimensions - cultural, social and existential - inviting reflection on the relationship with the "other" and the meaning of being welcoming. The artworks established an intimate dialogue with the guests, whilst in the communal spaces, a selection of archive photographs chronicled the history of the Fondazione and previous editions of the showcase. Outside, painterly interventions by Matteo Raw Tella further enriched the setting with symbolic references, such as the Third Paradise and the giraffe - a symbol of the ability to look far ahead and of the unusual guest - contributing to an immersive experience that weaves together art, memory and living.

Hotel Cittadellarte, from the press conference to the ribbon-cutting
The official opening of Hotel Cittadellarte represented one of the central and most symbolic moments of the 28th edition of Arte al Centro 2026, not only because of the inauguration of a new accommodation facility within the Fondazione's spaces, but also due to the cultural and political significance this new venue carries with it. The press conference, attended by institutions, local representatives, designers and Fondazione's collaborators, opened with a speech by Paolo Naldini, director of Cittadellarte: "Welcome to this building, which has known many lives: manufactory, laboratory, foundation. And today, in this twenty-eighth edition of Arte al Centro, it opens one more door: a door called hospitality. And it becomes a Hotel." Naldini recalled how the building's transformation was made possible thanks to collaboration with the institutions present—the deputy mayor of Biella, Sara Gentile, the councillor Anna Pisani, the president of the Province Emanuele Ramella Pralungo, the superintendent Federico Barello and the architect Marina Brustio—underlining the value of an administrative journey shared and carefully supported. From his very first words, the idea emerged of the hotel as an "organ connected to the living body of the Fondazione", thus not simply as a tourist infrastructure, but as a place where hospitality becomes an integral part of the artistic and social research of Fondazione Pistoletto.
Next to speak was Sara Gentile, deputy mayor of Biella, who defined the day as "special", recalling the historical value of the Arte al Centro showcase and the density of the programme that brings the spaces of Cittadellarte to life every year. The opening of the hotel, she stressed, represents the transformation of a place of work into a space dedicated to hospitality, culture and sharing: "This is a place of work that transforms into something else, something extraordinary." Gentile also linked the project to the trajectory of Biella as a UNESCO Creative City, highlighting how the UNESCO recognition has helped guide the region towards new forms of social, cultural and relational change, founded on art and beauty as instruments of transformation.
Emanuele Ramella Pralungo, president of the Province of Biella, also insisted on the transformative nature of the intervention, speaking of a "wonderful transformation" capable of restoring art and culture to a central position within contemporary society. In his speech, he highlighted how the hotel manages to put "a plurality of artists under the same roof", blending different sensibilities and cultures, and offering a new way to experience the artistic journey. Along the same lines, superintendent Federico Barello recalled the work carried out by his office in overseeing the restoration of the building, thanking Michelangelo Pistoletto for demonstrating how art can become a concrete tool for safeguarding and regenerating industrial heritage.
Taking the floor again, Naldini elaborated further on the cultural vision of Hotel Cittadellarte, defining it as the expression of "an idea as old as humanity itself": that the home can become a home for others too, not out of obligation or convenience, but thanks to the cooperative capacity that characterises human beings. Hence, the reflection on hospitality as a relational and civic practice is closely linked to the theme chosen for this edition of the showcase. The hotel, he explained, does indeed offer rooms and hospitality, but also a cultural and transformative programme: from the Terme Culturali to the exhibition L’ospite inatteso, created in collaboration with Isa Pisani's Prometeo Gallery. Naldini then also evoked Raw Tella’s interventions on the skin of the building - the Third Paradise and the giraffe - dwelling particularly on the latter figure, "a symbol of those who know how to look far ahead with eyes that are always kind", but also a metaphor for the unexpected guest, for the alien presence that awakens a community's capacity for hospitality.
Particularly significant was the section dedicated to the hotel managers, Ugo Pellegrino and Eugenio Rosano, whom Naldini pointed to as a concrete example of what happens when a region knows how to welcome those arriving from elsewhere. Having arrived in the Biella area in 2016 as "outsiders", the two entrepreneurs chose to stay, investing in the area and contributing to the growth of the local hospitality system. In his speech, Pellegrino spoke of the bond forged with Biella and its territory, describing it as a true love affair. He recalled the human and professional journey that had brought him there - from his shoemaker father to trips to Africa with Don Luigi Ciotti - and the desire to build facilities capable of having a precise identity, with rooms that are all different from one another. Following the reopening of the Hotel Astoria in 2023, the meeting with Cittadellarte and Paolo Naldini opened a new phase: "We are grateful to Michelangelo Pistoletto and Paolo Naldini for the trust they have placed in us to manage this structure." Pellegrino insisted that the theme of hospitality is not accidental, but deeply rooted in the identity of the project and the territory itself, inviting people to look at the Biella region as a place to be discovered and valued.
Alongside the symbolic and cultural dimension, the conference also gave space to the design and environmental aspects of the intervention. Emanuele Bottigella (from Cittadellarte’s architecture office) retraced the twenty-five years of the building's transformations, explaining how the restoration integrated important environmental sustainability measures, including the reclamation of tanks filled with naphtha. He also highlighted the choice to predominantly involve Piedmontese and Biellese companies in the project's execution, thereby strengthening the link between the hotel and the local productive fabric. Crisitina Rege offered a brief but intense testimony, simply expressing the strong emotion felt in seeing the work accomplished come to fruition, thanking the team for their invaluable contribution.
Amongst the most profound moments of the conference was the speech by Michelangelo Pistoletto, who focused on the philosophical scope of the project. The artist spoke of the hotel as a new stage in Cittadellarte's journey and the realisation of a dream: that of a work that is not finished and static, but capable of living, regenerating and continuously transforming through those who pass through it. "I always feel involved and present, but less of an author," he stated, explaining how authorship here becomes diffuse: a co-author is also "whoever washed the hotel floor", because every gesture contributes to the collective construction of the work. This led to a reflection on work, participation and moving beyond exploitation: being aware of taking part in something means not feeling like passive instruments, but like active subjects of a common transformation. Pistoletto then linked the concept of hospitality to that of the hospital and health, ultimately defining the community itself as a place of care.
Closing the speeches was the president of Cittadellarte, Giuliana Setari Carusi, who shared her personal experience inside the hotel, dwelling on the feeling of stillness and harmony conveyed by the spaces. She spoke of a discreet presence of the artworks, of a "sober elegance" capable of generating calmness and a sense of peace, thus offering an image of the hotel as a place where art, hospitality and well-being coexist in balance. The conference finally concluded with the ribbon-cutting, a symbolic gesture that officially sanctioned the opening of Hotel Cittadellarte and the start of a new phase for Fondazione and the Biella territory.

Dans Les Plis - Ogni punto è il centro dell’universo
At the Museum of the Present, the exhibition Dans les plis – Ogni punto è il centro dell’universo (In the Folds – Every Point is the Centre of the Universe) was inaugurated, curated by Ilaria Bernardi and based on an idea by Giuliana Setari Carusi and Serena Pomilio. The project took its starting point from the traditional female dress of Scanno, a candidate for UNESCO heritage, and the pleating technique (trijatura), developing a historical and creative pathway that connected the Scanno dress with the history of the pleat, from tradition through to contemporary research. The project also involved the three-year course in Sustainable Fashion at the Accademia Unidee, directed by Maria Canella, and the Fashion B.E.S.T. Office, including the installation of Michelangelo Pistoletto's Third Paradise, reinterpreted in a textile key by the artist Laurent Barnavon. The exhibition represented the first stage of a three-year journey dedicated to the theme of the "fold" as a metaphor for transformation across fashion, art and contemporary thought.

CirculART 4.0
Displayed within the Fondazione's spaces were also the works of CirculART 4.0, a project by Fashion B.E.S.T. and UNIDEE Residency Programs. Developed with Kering's Material Innovation Lab and numerous partners from the textile sector, it aims to redefine the dialogue between contemporary art, fashion and sustainability through research into textile materials. The project sets out to redefine the dialogue between the creativity of contemporary art, fashion and the know-how of the excellent textile industry, turning textile matter into a protagonist component of mindful design. The project represents a solid bridge between art and sustainability, elevating fashion into a vehicle for cultural change.

Ecosystems as Living Communities Vol. II
At Arte al Centro, the works from the second edition of Ecosystems as Living Communities were also presented. Curated by Angela Serino and developed by UNIDEE Residency Programs in collaboration with UniCredit Group, it features the research of artists Emma Zerial and Eliza Collin dedicated to Alpine landscapes and contemporary ecosystems understood as relational systems. This continues the partnership between Cittadellarte and the banking group, dedicated to artists who bring practices that connect communities and disciplines that are often still non-communicating, despite being inhabitants of shared ecosystems.

Universario and Uffizi
In the Centro district, the new Universario was inaugurated- a space dedicated to Michelangelo Pistoletto's "Formula of Creation" - alongside the Uffizi exhibition, dedicated to chronicling the thousand faces of Cittadellarte's activities, like polyhedral crystals. Both exhibitions are designed in collaboration with Guardini Ciuffreda Studio and operate as a connecting environment between Cittadellarte’s various projects. Furthermore, the installations Selfie Robot / Selfie Interview - an interactive experience of introspective dialogue with a robot- and Mirror of Eternity were presented. The latter, created by Michelangelo Pistoletto in partnership with DMINTI and Galleria Continua, extends the sign of the Third Paradise into a dimension of eternity, allowing participants to co-create their own image as a fusion with that of another participant, either real or AI-generated, in a potentially infinite game of digital procreation.

Popular Remission
Space was also given to the work Popular Remission, 2026, by Davide Carnevale. The installation in wood, clay and terracotta- inspired by the trinamic symbol- is dedicated to the transition from the "name and role" of Rebirth ambassadors to that of Artivators of the Third Paradise and ambassadors of the Statodellarte (State of the Art). This project develops Cittadellarte into a plural articulation of diverse subjects (from businesses and sports organisations to religious structures), united in a civic subjectivity committed to building projects and actions within the framework of an open, free and responsible citizenship, founded on art and participation.

Erasmus+
In the Centro district, the feedback exhibition for the Erasmus+ project was also opened to the public, created by Ambienti di Apprendimento (Learning Environments) with schools from the Directorate of Secondary Education of West Thessaloniki (Greece), the Szent László Gimnázium in Budapest, the Gae Aulenti Institute and the Sella High School in Biella.

Accademia Unidee
At Arte al Centro 2026, Accademia Unidee opened the doors of its spaces to the public: visitors were able to tour classrooms, laboratories and ateliers, stepping into the heart of academic life. It was an opportunity to discover the courses and the teaching methodology first-hand.

Palazzo del Buongoverno
At the Palazzo del Buongoverno, the Agorà Statodellarte space continues its exhibition evolution dedicated to Biella Città Arcipelago (Biella Archipelago City) with a new display curated by Guardini Ciuffreda Studio, with technical sponsorship from 3A Composites, DIBOND® and Sogiplast. Visitors could also view Michelangelo Pistoletto's exhibitions UR-RA and Unity of Sport for a Preventive Peace, along with the screening of the video dedicated to the proclamation of Pope Francis as the First Saint of Art.

Working Conference "New museum models: hospitality, care and experiences" - The speech by Pierluigi Sacco
The first part of the Working Conference New museum models: hospitality, care and experiences, hosted in the spaces of Agorà Statodellarte at the Palazzo del Buongoverno, laid the theoretical and scientific foundations for one of the cornerstones of Arte al Centro 2026: the relationship between culture, health and social transformation. Opening the meeting was Paolo Naldini, who chose to start precisely from the venue hosting the convention, defining it as a space that already in its name - Agorà Statodellarte - encapsulates a precise political and cultural vision. Naldini described the Biella Città Arcipelago project as a system of "communities of practice" made up of organisations, groups and local actors working together through thematic roundtables dedicated to issues central to the Biella region: health and well-being, learning, food and agriculture, hospitality, sustainable mobility, wool landscapes, and living and working in the mountains. This model stems from the geographical and cultural specificity of the Biella territory, termed an "archipelago" because it consists of inhabited nuclei connected by nature in a balance that is still possible between artifice and the natural landscape. From here, the transition to the theme of the day: health, understood not merely as a medical matter but as a cultural and social dimension.
Naldini then introduced the core of the conference by asking an apparently simple question: "What does a museum have to do with health?" An issue that, he explained, until a few years ago would have seemed rhetorical but which today finds increasingly solid answers in international research. Citing studies in neuroscience, epidemiology and metabolomics, the director of the Fondazione Pistoletto stressed how active participation in cultural experiences produces concrete and measurable effects on the human body: stress reduction, mood regulation, neurochemical changes and biological processes that directly impact individual well-being. "Culture, when it is practised and not just consumed, acts on the body," he stated, explaining how the conference moved along a "double helix": on one side, the relationship between culture and public health, and on the other, that between culture and the socio-economic development of the territory. Two dimensions that, according to Naldini, can no longer be considered separate but are interwoven within a vision where art stops being a mere ornament to become a transformative agent of society. Following this line, the Terme Culturali project and the very experience of Arte al Centro are configured as tools through which to test new models of collective well-being and cultural welfare.
Next to speak was Sara Gentile, who brought greetings from the municipal administration, emphasizing the importance of the path the Biella territory is traversing. Echoing what had already emerged during the Hotel Cittadellarte press conference, Gentile highlighted the value of public-private collaboration in transforming industrial spaces into places dedicated to culture, hospitality and tourism. She spoke of a territory historically founded on manufacturing work that today is trying to open itself up to new vocations, including culture and hospitality. "It is neither a simple nor a rapid path," she observed, but it is a direction towards which the Biella region is moving, thanks to the shared work of institutions, foundations and cultural entities. The deputy mayor also reiterated the international dimension achieved by Cittadellarte, capable of attracting people from all over the world and building a network of relations that goes far beyond just exhibiting the works of Michelangelo Pistoletto, shaping up as a permanent laboratory for a more just and inclusive society. "We are opening up to an important phase that puts culture at the centre," she concluded, defining Arte al Centro as a great opportunity not only for the city of Biella but for the entire region.
Following the institutional interventions, Naldini introduced the speech by Professor Pier Luigi Sacco, presenting him as one of the leading international scholars on the impact of culture on health and development. Director of the BAC research centre - Biobehavioral Arts and Culture for Health at the University of Chieti-Pescara - Sacco was invited to present the latest research on the relationship between artistic experience and biological processes, opening up a reflection that represented one of the most intense and innovative moments of the entire day. From his opening remarks, the researcher addressed the distrust that still exists today in the cultural world towards the idea of scientifically studying the effects of art and cultural participation. "Culture has been with us for at least forty thousand years," he recalled, explaining how it has produced a profound biological co-evolution of the human being. Understanding scientifically what happens during a cultural experience does not, according to Sacco, "break the magic" of art, but, on the contrary, allows us to understand its depth and responsibility even better.
During his speech, Sacco illustrated the results of several international research projects showing that cultural participation has measurable effects on the human body. Through metabolomic analyses conducted using simple saliva samples, his team observed significant changes in neurochemical processes linked to stress reduction, neuroplasticity, memory, learning and even cellular ageing processes. Particularly significant was the account of the Pre-Texts protocol, developed alongside international researchers and tested in over twenty countries: a collective experience based on reading aloud and shared creation which, in certain contexts, produced surprising effects on mental well-being. Sacco cited, amongst others, a study carried out in Kibera, on the outskirts of Nairobi, where five hours of cultural practice led to a 50% reduction in depression indicators among young participants. Even more surprising were the data relating to the persistence of the biological effects: certain metabolic markers linked to stress regulation and neuroplasticity were still significantly modified two months after the cultural experience.
Throughout the conference, Sacco insisted several times on one point: not all cultural experiences produce the same effects. Different museums, different artistic practices and different modes of participation activate specific biological and emotional processes. Hence, the idea of considering museums as "salutogenic spaces", meaning spaces capable of generating health. The researcher also linked these reflections to the theme of social prescribing, already widespread in several European countries, where healthcare systems are starting to prescribe cultural and artistic activities as an integral part of care pathways. Citing the cases of the Nordic countries, the United Kingdom and more recently Greece, Sacco stressed how culture can become a genuine public health infrastructure, with effects not only on individual well-being but also on the economic sustainability of healthcare systems.
Closing the first part of the convention was Paolo Naldini once again, who connected the reflections that had emerged to the Terme Culturali project and the broader vision of Cittadellarte. Naldini emphasized the fact that these studies show ever more clearly the potential of art to contribute to public health and the quality of life in regional areas, also highlighting the economic and social implications of such practices at a historical moment when traditional welfare appears increasingly fragile. The message is clear: the research presented by Sacco was not proposed as a mere scientific curiosity, but as a possible basis for rethinking the very role of cultural institutions within contemporary society.

Working Conference "New museum models: hospitality, care and experiences" - The talk with Montibeller, Sanneh and Tournour Viron
Following Sacco's intervention, a discussion took place - dedicated to the relationship between culture, territories and social transformation and moderated by Emanuele Montibeller - which opened up an intense reflection on the role that art and creativity can assume today in building new forms of community. Introducing the meeting, Paolo Naldini underlined how, after listening to the scientific contribution of Pier Luigi Sacco, it was necessary to broaden the gaze through concrete experiences capable of connecting cultural practices, territories and people. This perspective was embodied by the career of Montibeller, founder of Arte Sella and artistic director of OCA - Oasy Contemporary Art and Architecture, who was called upon to lead a discussion with two figures from different but deeply connected worlds: Adama Sanneh, CEO of the Moleskine Foundation, and Paola Tournour Viron, journalist and member of the scientific committee of TTG Italia.

With an ironic and direct tone, Montibeller opened the discussion, starting from a personal reflection on the emotional tension that accompanies cultural work. "Gifting experiences to others," he observed, also means taking on the responsibility of creating the best conditions so that those experiences can truly happen. From this arose a moment that was both intimate and political, in which the Fondazione Pistoletto board member expressed satisfaction with the path undertaken through the hotel and Terme Culturali projects, defining them as the result of years of discussions, intuitions and hard work.

The dialogue then developed around a central question: what cultural, ethical and human vision guides the work of those operating today across culture, tourism and social innovation? For Paola Tournour-Viron, the starting point was the profound change currently sweeping through contemporary tourism. Speaking not so much as a journalist but as a representative of the professional world of international tourism, Tournour Viron shared how the experience of the Fondazione Pistoletto, presented last year at TTG in Rimini, aroused particular interest amongst sector operators precisely because of its ability to propose a different model of cultural hospitality. According to the journalist, the tourism of the future will necessarily have to return to being culture: after decades marked by massification and the fast consumption of places, a demand is emerging that is increasingly oriented towards authentic, slow and transformative experiences. In her speech, she focused on the need to overcome the historical separation between culture and tourism, which are often perceived as antagonistic worlds. On one hand, she explained, tourism has been accused of turning regions into products to be consumed; on the other, the cultural world has often looked upon large tourist flows with suspicion. Yet, this very fracture represents one of the decisive knots to be tackled today. The problem of overtourism, recalled through Italian and international examples, shows the limits of a growth founded exclusively on numbers. For Tournour-Viron, the challenge consists instead in building a tourism capable of listening to territories, respecting their balances and distributing opportunities more sustainably, preventing places from losing their identity and liveability.

Alongside this reflection, Adama Sanneh's intervention further broadened the discourse, bringing it onto a global dimension. Co-founder and CEO of the Moleskine Foundation, Sanneh spoke of the foundation's work as an attempt to reframe the relationship between creativity and social change, emphasizing how cultural experiences are essential tools for developing critical thinking and agency, particularly within marginalized communities.Yet, he stressed, cultural entities are precisely those capable of working across the board on crucial issues such as health, climate change, democracy, social justice and community relations. Sanneh insisted on the “intrinsically intersectional” character of cultural practices: organisations like the Fondazione Pistoletto, he explained, elude traditional categories because they simultaneously span, for instance, education, art, urban planning, well-being and civil transformation. For this reason, public and private funding systems often struggle to recognise and support them adequately. From this stems the experience of the “Creativity Pioneers Fund”, the international fund created by the Moleskine Foundation together with other partners to support cultural and creative organisations in over eighty countries worldwide. One of the most significant passages of his speech concerned the theme of “trust-based philanthropy”. Sanneh explained how the foundation chose not to simply fund projects, but to directly support the organisations and people operating on the ground, recognising their ability to independently identify local priorities and needs. “We cannot be the ones from Milan telling a community what its priorities are,” he specified, reiterating the need to build horizontal relationships and authentic listening processes. Particularly strong was also the reflection on the value of creativity as a political and social tool: Sanneh illustrated examples of organisations that began as artistic experiences and then transformed into agricultural, environmental or community projects, whilst keeping at the centre a “creative posture” capable of generating new ways of inhabiting the world. During the meeting, the dialogue returned several times to the relationship between tourism, art and the possibility of building new forms of relationship. Tournour-Viron remarked how tourism can truly become a tool for peace and mutual understanding only on condition that it listens to the territories and respects their human and social balances. He warned against the indiscriminate chase after big numbers and the immediate effects produced by digital communication and influencers, recalling how many places risk losing their identity by transforming into “non-places”, citing Roccaraso. He then placed the emphasis on the growing demand from international travellers for deeper and more personal experiences. The data collected by TTG shows, in fact, an ever-increasing interest in silence, slow rhythms, contact with nature and above all, the opportunity to meet artists, writers and personalities from the areas visited. A shift which, according to Tournour-Viron, opens up significant opportunities precisely for projects like those developed by the Fondazione Pistoletto, which are capable of weaving together hospitality, contemporary art, education and community life. In the final part of the discussion, Montibeller asked Sanneh what the role of businesses could be today in supporting authentic cultural processes. The response from the Moleskine Foundation CEO was emblematic: once again, in his view, there is a need to build relationships based on meaning and not just on image. The relationship between foundation and company, he explained, works because it is based on a balance of independence, mutual trust and shared values. But above all, because it allows real human connections to be activated between very diverse worlds, from large international museums to small local festivals.

The Opening
The official opening of Arte al Centro took place in the Concept space: opening the evening was Paolo Naldini, who traced the path of Cittadellarte back to the choice made by Michelangelo Pistoletto and Maria Pioppi at the beginning of the 1990s: to found a “city of art” - which later became Cittadellarte - capable of regenerating the Biella territory through culture and practice. In his speech, the director recalled Biella's designation as a UNESCO Creative City, linking it to the symbol of the Third Paradise and the urgent need to build a “Preventive Peace” in a present marked by the return of war and new forms of inequality. Hence, the reference to demopraxy, practised by organisations, communities of practice and civic entities capable of cooperating with public institutions in building the common good. A concept that ran through the entire evening and translated into the idea of an art that is not ornamental but transformative, called upon to act concretely in society. Alongside Naldini, representatives of local institutions spoke, starting with the deputy mayor and councillor for culture, Sara Gentile, who stressed how the twenty-eighth edition of Arte al Centro now represents a consolidated practice for the city, capable of weaving together culture, tourism and urban regeneration. Gentile placed emphasis on the inauguration of the new Hotel Cittadellarte, defining it as a sign of the transformation of the Biella territory and of an ever-closer collaboration between the public and private sectors oriented towards a new idea of cultural hospitality. The President of the Province, Emanuele Ramella Pralungo, also insisted on the role of art as a space for discussion and collective responsibility, recalling the need not to become desensitised to the violence and war passing through the present day. In an emblematic passage, Ramella Pralungo pointed precisely to Cittadellarte as a place capable of offering the territory “a new way” based on slow, reflective and shared processes, reaffirming the importance of real collaboration between public institutions and private entities to imagine the future of the Biella area.
Naldini’s speech then expanded to the many projects inaugurated throughout the day, sketching a complex and deeply interconnected picture of Cittadellarte's activities. Central, ça va sans dire, was the theme of hospitality, taken not as a simple service but as a civil and political practice, in relation to the opening of the new Hotel Cittadellarte and the relaunch of the Terme Culturali, presented during the opening by Armona Pistoletto as experiential and participatory pathways dedicated to individual and collective well-being. During the opening, new exhibitions and projects dedicated to sustainable fashion, mountain territories, artistic research, and educational and residency programmes were also presented, with speeches by, among others, curator Ilaria Bernardi. Crossing the themes of circularity, care, hospitality and the relationship between art and society, the evening reflected the image of a Cittadellarte increasingly understood as a permanent laboratory, capable of connecting artistic research, social practices and territorial transformation within a vision of a new world, or rather, Statodellarte.

The Minimum Prize to MAAM and Giorgio de Finis
One of the traditional moments of the Arte al Centro 2026 opening was dedicated to the twentieth edition of the Minimum Prize, introduced by the president of the Fondazione Pistoletto, Giuliana Setari Carusi. In her speech, she stressed how the day had fully reverberated the “choral” nature of Cittadellarte, founded on sharing, relationships and responsibility, recalling how in nearly thirty years of activity the foundation has built an ever-wider network of collaborations, involving institutions, artists, territories and new generations. Dwelling then on the meaning of the award, Setari defined the Minimum Prize as an award capable over the years of recognising personalities who “through their way of living, creating, and teaching have made our society better”. The president also reaffirmed the value of generational continuity built by Cittadellarte.
So, the winner? The Minimum Prize 2026 was awarded to Giorgio de Finis and MAAM — Museo dell'Altro e dell'Altrove di Metropoliz (Museum of the Other and the Elsewhere of Metropoliz), recognised for the relationship built between art, the right to housing and social transformation. Below are the jury's reasons: "The Minimum Prize 2026 is awarded to Giorgio de Finis and MAAM - Museo dell’Altro e dell’Altrove di Metropoliz - for the relationship that has been generated between them and for what it continues to produce. We prize the bond between an artist, anthropologist and curator who entered a housing squat with the idea of building a rocket to go to the moon, and a mixed-race city of two hundred people from all over the world who decided not to let themselves be expelled from the city and to be protected by a museum. Hundreds of artists accepted the invitation to create a work that would defend the homes and Metropoliz's right to exist, a barricade that was also a way to fight the enclave effect suffered by those who must close the door behind them because they are threatened daily with eviction. Playing the museum game is for de Finis a way to change the city, making it more inclusive, fair, and participatory. MAAM holds together two things that the city separates: the museum, the flagship of global cities usually entrusted to starchitects, and lives on the margins of the metropolis, a programme that is now also shared by the Museo delle Periferie (Museum of the Suburbs). Giorgio de Finis set a mechanism in motion without imposing a blueprint, letting the space build itself thanks to the work of those who inhabit it (the families who welcome visitors every Saturday, the children born inside it), those who pass through it, and the artists who with their works, have effectively signed a petition for the right to housing, but also to beauty for all. What has been built at via Prenestina 913, in a former abandoned salami factory destined for property speculation, is an inhabited museum, where the institution self-legitimises from the bottom up instead of coming down from above. In this, we recognise a living practice of Demopraxy, a politics made of coexistence, where every singularity — the artist, the occupier, the visitor, the public administration — enters the process as an author and co-author and not as a spectator. To this is added a recent fact: the Municipality of Rome has recently launched a plan that provides for the construction of one hundred and forty-four social housing units (70 of which are destined for the inhabitants of Metropoliz), with the transformation of MAAM into an institutional exhibition space. It is the moment when a process born from below meets the primary government and is recognised as a public good. For this reason, the Minimum, a starting prize, finds a precise correspondence in de Finis and MAAM: a city that never stops beginning. And dreaming." In receiving the prize, presented by Sara Gentile, Giorgio De Finis wished first of all to recall the long-standing link between MAAM and Cittadellarte, thanking Michelangelo Pistoletto, Maria Pioppi and the entire Fondazione for the support offered over the years to the Roman project. “This award is yet another prize, because MAAM too has always been helped by Cittadellarte over the years,” he declared, recalling among the most significant episodes the arrival of the Venus of the Rags at the Metropoliz museum. Giorgio de Finis then described MAAM as a space where art and life coincide once again: “MAAM is an inhabited museum, art lives in the homes, it defends the dwellings, the inhabitants defend and host the art.” An experience that, in his words, symbolically leads back “to the Lascaux caves, when art and dwelling stayed together.” The presentation of the prize thus took on the value of a recognition that was not only artistic but deeply civic, consistent with the themes of hospitality, participation and responsibility that ran through the entire day of Arte al Centro 2026.

Unique "Cittadellarte" Prize to Paolo Naldini
The concluding moment of the opening turned, in a completely unexpected way, into one of the most intense and emotional passages of the entire day. After calling Michelangelo Pistoletto back onto the stage, director Paolo Naldini suddenly found himself at the centre of a surprise that no one among the audience or Cittadellarte’s own collaborators knew about. Pistoletto took the floor with a few essential, almost held-back sentences, announcing that he had established “today, for the first and unique time, a prize that nobody knows anything about”. Then, in front of the community gathered for Arte al Centro, he presented Naldini with the recognition he defined as the Unique "Cittadellarte" Prize to Paolo Naldini. “I am the artistic director presenting the prize to the practical director,” Pistoletto declared, publicly recognising the central role played by Naldini in the development of Demopraxy and in the transition “from Cittadellarte to Statodellarte”. A tribute as personal as it was political, which conveyed to everyone the sense of a body of work built over the years through dense efforts resulting from relationships, expertise and — an overused term, but never as true as now — passion. When Pistoletto invited the audience to shout together “Viva Paolo Naldini!”, the choral response from the crowd transformed that unexpected finale into a moment of genuine collective emotion, sealing not only the conclusion of the opening but also the recognition of a human and project journey deeply interwoven with the very history of Cittadellarte. Paolo Naldini, visibly moved, embraced Michelangelo Pistoletto in a moment that, as is easy to imagine, will remain forever treasured in the drawer of his memory.

Presentations, performances and auteur cinema
Following the opening and the informal dinner, the evening saw the presentation of the project AMAZONIA: relatos de abundancia by Sergio Racanati, winner of the Italian Council grant (16th edition), featuring a video screening of the film's moodboard (the Project leader is Centro Itard Lombardia in partnership with Polo Arti Cultura e Turismo of Puglia Region and the Emily Harvey Foundation); with a talk by the artist Sergio Racanati, art historian Manuela Gandini and Paolo Naldini. During the day, the film Catartis - Conservare il Futuro by Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani was also screened. The curtain fell on the day with a DJ Set & Sound performance by Kinki Von Berlinki and with music by Duck Baleno and a DJ Set curated by Hydro at Spazio Hydro.