A Twenty-Five-Year Journey of Interreligious Dialogue Takes Shape in Biella with the Signing of the Declaration of the Table for Preventive Peace Based on Art: a programmatic document uniting spirituality, art, and social commitment to build not reactive but preventive peace — one capable of acting before conflicts arise— has been signed in Biella, marking a milestone in a twenty-five-year journey of interfaith dialogue. The Declaration of the Table for Preventive Peace Based on Art was signed as the culmination of a long-standing effort led by contemporary art pioneer Michelangelo Pistoletto and curated by Francesco Monico, philosopher of technology and former director of UNIDEE Academy at Fondazione Pistoletto. The project draws from the legacy of the Multireligious Place of Gathering at the Pauli-Calmettes Hospital in Marseille—an emblematic space of spiritual encounter created in 2000 by Michelangelo Pistoletto himself as a multifaith chapel.

The Declaration was signed by key representatives of major spiritual traditions: Father Antonio Spadaro SI, Jesuit theologian; Imam Nader Akkad, of the Great Mosque of Rome; Rabbi Joseph Levi, from the Jewish community of Florence and peace activist; Swamini Shuddananda Ghiri, of the Hindu Monastery Gitananda Ashram in Savona.

A Journey of Dialogue and Art
The encounters, which began in 2023 and continued throughout 2024, offered meaningful moments of exchange and dialogue in sacred places belonging to various spiritual traditions: from the Great Mosque of Rome to the Synagogue of Florence, from the Hindu monastery Gitananda Ashram in Savona to Catholic settings. These dialogues inspired a global manifesto that translated the conversations into tangible works. This journey, which began 25 years ago in Marseille at the Pauli-Calmettes hospital with the creation by Maestro Michelangelo Pistoletto of the Lieu de recueillement—a multireligious chapel—has since evolved through important milestones, such as the awarding of the Wolf Prize in Jerusalem, the installation of the Third Paradise at the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, the creation of a Third Paradise in the sacred forest of the aforementioned Hindu temple, and the publication of the book Spiritualità, published by Marsilio—a passionate dialogue between a secular artist and a Christian theologian exploring the role of art within the context of faith.

The achievements include the multireligious space for reflection at the Pauli-Calmettes Hospital in Marseille; the installation of the Third Paradise at the center of the Abrahamic Family House square in Abu Dhabi—an area that visually and conceptually unites a synagogue, a church, and a mosque—and another installation in the sacred forest of the Gitananda Ashram monastery. As mentioned, the book Spiritualità was published by Marsilio Editori in Venice, a work that investigates the role of art in the Catholic faith. These initiatives highlight a deep commitment to promoting dialogue and mutual understanding among diverse cultural and spiritual traditions.

For 2025, the exhibition U.R.-R.A. Unity of Religions – Responsibility of Art, for a Preventive Peace is being prepared. It is scheduled to open in October 2025 at the Royal Villa of Monza and will represent a concrete step forward in this meaningful path of dialogue and artistic creation.

The Principles of the Interreligious Table for Preventive Peace
The Declaration is founded on ten key principles, including:

1. Peace as a creative act, which requires active and non-violent commitment;
2. Art as a universal language, capable of transcending cultural and religious barriers;
3. The "fertile void", a trinamic concept developed by Pistoletto that generates new dimensions of understanding;
4. The social responsibility of art and religions in promoting care, listening, and justice;
5. Preventive peace, as an alternative to preventive war, built through artistic and spiritual practices.

Among the concrete actions planned are: interreligious workshops, cultural events, educational programs, and the creation of a Game of Religions aimed at fostering collaboration and shared narratives.

The Spirituality Office of Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadellarte is Born
Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadellarte has recently acquired a new space in Biella, which will become the home of the Spirituality Office. Located in the historic former Gualino factory—a site rich in cultural significance—this space once served as a vibrant center of entrepreneurship and art, thanks to Riccardo Gualino, a visionary collector and patron of the arts in the 1920s, whose prestigious art collection is now housed at the Galleria Sabauda in Turin.

With a privileged position overlooking the entire Cittadellarte complex, the Spirituality Office will be dedicated to interreligious research and dialogue, promoting an integrated vision of spirituality in an increasingly multicultural world. It aims to serve as a permanent laboratory for exchange, where artists, scholars, philosophers, and representatives of diverse spiritual traditions can come together to develop projects that bridge art, science, literature, and philosophy.

The Office’s mission is to enhance spirituality as an active force for mutual understanding, creating bridges between disciplines and serving the world’s great spiritual and cultural traditions. It will be an open and innovative space that honors Biella’s industrial and artistic past while looking toward the future—building together a more harmonious and inclusive society.

The Appointments
The Interreligious Table for Preventive Peace sets off on its journey: from Rome to Monza, a path of art and dialogue that is not meant to be a static document, but rather a true itinerant laboratory. Following the inauguration ceremony, the journey will continue through a series of key events aimed at bringing the dialogue between art and spirituality into major cultural venues across Italy.

May 14, 2025 – MAXXI, Rome
The first stop took place at MAXXI – the National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome, where the signatories of the Table gathered privately to continue their dialogue. On this occasion, the first concrete initiatives inspired by the principles of the Declaration were discussed, with a particular focus on the role of younger generations in building peace through art.

June 13, 2025 – Villa Reale, Monza
In Monza, at the Royal Villa, the Table will meet again to further the work and gain a firsthand view of the spaces being prepared for the upcoming exhibition.

June 2025 (date to be confirmed) – Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome
The journey will continue at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni for Art and Culture in Rome, where the second working lab will take shape, followed by a public event to share the process behind the creation of the Spirituality dialogue, including the ideas, proposals, and perspectives it has generated. This will be an opportunity to involve artists, theologians, and civil society representatives in a debate on the challenges of interreligious dialogue in today’s world.

September 2025 – Biella
Symbolically returning to the project’s birthplace, the next stop will be in Biella. Here, an event will be held to present the results of the previous meetings and to announce new international collaborations.
This itinerary is not just a calendar of events, but a genuine collective process. Each stop offers a chance to add new layers to the work of the Table, involving an ever-widening range of voices and turning principles into practice.

October 2025 – Monza
Inauguration of the exhibition U.R.-R.A. Unity of Religions – Responsibility of Art, for a Preventive Peace. This event will serve as both a moment of reflection and the launch of four conferences in which art, through culture, fosters relationships among major religions as living archives of imagination, allies of art in envisioning adaptation to the 21st century.

A Continuing Commitment
The various stages of the journey will allow the Interreligious Table to take root in different contexts—from museums and academia to institutional dialogue. This path demonstrates how art and spirituality can move beyond traditional spaces to become true instruments of social transformation.
The work of UR-RA will gain international visibility through the exhibition U.R.-R.A. Unity of Religions – Responsibility of Art, for a Preventive Peace, held at the Royal Villa of Monza and curated by Francesco Monico. The exhibition will be enriched by four international conferences on medicine, finance, poetry, and education, and will culminate in the signing of the Charter of Monza—a document formalizing the commitment of religious and secular cultural institutions to ongoing dialogue.

A Response to the Global Crisis
In an age marked by conflict and polarization, art and spirituality can act as tools for synthesis. The Interreligious Table for Preventive Peace is not an endpoint, but a beginning—an invitation to transform the void of conflict into fertile ground for a new humanity.

Cover Image: Michelangelo Pistoletto, Metrocubo d’infinito, 1966, Mirror and rope, 120 x 120 x 120 cm. Collection: Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella. Photo: Paolo Pellion.