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The inauguration of Michelangelo Pistoletto's "UR-RA – Unity of Religions – Responsibility of Art" at the Royal Palace of Monza
The opening of the master's solo exhibition, curated by Francesco Monico and promoted by the Consorzio Villa Reale e Parco di Monza and Cittadellarte, took place on Friday, October 31st. The event attracted international press, institutions, and representatives of some of the major religious traditions, and revolved around a key word that was reiterated throughout the presentations: "responsibility." With tours of the exhibition, a vernissage, and a press conference, the evening showcased a symbolic pact between art and spirituality.
For one evening, the Royal Palace of Monza was transformed into a stage for collective discussion and representation: journalists, members of institutions, and prominent figures from various faiths gathered for the inauguration of UR-RA – Unity of Religions – Responsibility of Art, the solo exhibition tracing Michelangelo Pistoletto's research from the 1950s to the present. The attendance was large; the public was able to tour the rooms, pause before the works, and then continue into the garden, where the large Third Paradise, made of recycled benches, is located.
The press conference reaffirmed the complex nature of the project: not just a monographic exhibition, but a program of dialogue that will span the entire year of its opening with public events and concrete goals, including the future signing of the Monza Charter for Interreligious Diversity. The individual presentations also reflected the spirit of the event: critical discussion, a call for ethical responsibility, and a commitment to translating aesthetic experience into practices of coexistence.
Words from the conference — a shared story
During the presentation, the participants' voices intertwined in a dialogue that captured the true spirit of the project. Michelangelo Pistoletto introduced the meaning of the meeting, recalling how humanity today faces a crucial choice: "We have this difference between an edifying intelligence and a mortifying intelligence, which is that of war." His words immediately set the tone for the event, positioning art as a constructive practice, opposed to the destructive logic of conflict.
Curator Francesco Monico echoed this thought, clarifying the nature of UR-RA: "This exhibition was also born to create a dialogue, to create this very peace." Monico emphasized how the project is the result of extensive listening and discussion with representatives of different faiths, transforming the exhibition into a permanent laboratory of mutual responsibility.
From the curatorial dimension, the discussion then shifted to the realm of shared spirituality. Svamini Shuddhananda Ghiri, representing the Italian Hindu Union, recalled that war and conflict arise from mistrust: "This meeting is not intended to diminish differences, but to enhance them." Her sentiments were echoed by Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, who spoke of art and poetry as places capable of uniting without erasing identities: "Art and poetry have given us the opportunity to be ourselves, remaining ourselves but together."
The speech by Nader Akkad, imam of the Great Mosque of Rome, shifted the focus to the contemporary world, drawing a parallel between the birth of Islamic algebra and the challenges of artificial intelligence: "The algorithm is a tool, and its value depends on the ethics we instill within it." Rabbi Joseph Levi then evoked a powerful image, inviting us to rediscover "the paths of peace, within and without ourselves," as a daily gesture of collective responsibility.
The institutional event was opened by Bartolomeo Corsini, general director of the Consorzio Villa Reale e Parco di Monza, who emphasized the symbolic value of the evening: "Now for the symbolic gesture: we would like to cut a ribbon together with Maestro Pistoletto." Immediately afterward, Mayor Paolo Pilotto, president of the Consortium, chose to break the ceremonial tone with spontaneous words: "Allow me, in a context like this, to abandon words that are halfway between soft and formal," bringing the discussion back to a level of direct and civic participation.
The series of remarks was concluded by Francesca Caruso, Councilor for Culture of the Lombardy Region, who summarized the profound meaning of the exhibition: "Art and spirituality meet in a dialogue that transcends the boundaries of religions and cultures, placing humanity at the center."
Exhibition Layout and Works: The Exhibition Path
The exhibition follows a chronological path, designed to highlight the relationship between Pistoletti's early pictorial experiments and his subsequent symbolic synthesis. Despite the internal order, the first image that greets visitors in the central atrium of the Palace is The Stone of Infinity: a contemporary reworking of The Cubic Meter of Infinity (1966), which serves as the project's physical and conceptual threshold. It is a work conceived as a point of meditation: material and symbol that evoke the idea of cycle and openness.
From the large atrium, the exhibition path unfolds through rooms presenting a total of 40 works in chronological order. Among these, The Priest (1957) stands out, the oldest work in the exhibition, which harks back to the thematic origins of Pistoletti's exploration of the human figure and spirituality. Further along, visitors encounter the Specchianti (Mirrors): seven works that multiply the gaze (four 230x120 cm panels and three 100x100 cm panels) and transform the experience into an act of mutual reflection: the viewer sees himself, the space doubles, and the history of the work dialogues with the historic architecture of the royal apartments.
In the garden in front of the Palace, the Terzo Paradiso (Third Paradise) takes shape: a large symbolic device constructed with recycled benches that define circles of "civil meditation." The presence of this outdoor installation multiplies the levels of interpretation of the exhibition: not only the museum as a container, but the landscape and the city as a place of collective practice.
Program and objectives for the coming year
The exhibition will remain open for one year, until October 31, 2026, and is not intended to be a one-off event. The UR-RA program includes four thematic conferences, each conceived as a forum for discussion between religions and knowledge: Medicine, Care, and Spirituality (the relationship between human sciences, clinical practice, and empathy); Finance, Economics, and Spirituality (dialogue between Western financial models and Islamic economic principles; ethics and sustainability); Poetry, Literature, and Spirituality (the word as a vehicle of meaning between religious traditions and contemporary languages); Education, Knowledge, and Spirituality (the impact of artificial intelligence on educational processes and cognitive transformations).
A further strategic objective of the project is the definition and signing of the Monza Charter for Interreligious Diversity, a document that aims to consolidate practices of cooperation between Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and secular cultures.
A path that remains open
The opening night of UR-RA lived up to its promise of being more than a vernissage: it was a practical demonstration of how contemporary art can act as a theater of collective responsibility. Between the viewing of the works, the public discussion, and the symbolic inauguration gesture with the cutting of the tricolor ribbon, the Reggia hosted an intense mix of languages and testimonies. The Monza exhibition does not propose easy solutions, but offers tools for imagining forms of coexistence that prevent conflict: a work that aims to transform the viewer into an active interlocutor.
