ARCANA — The Lion of the New Horizon. National exhibition by Andrea da Montefeltro

EXHIBITION REVIEW / CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE

Arcana: The Lion of the New Horizon. Stone, Spirit, and Memory in the Work of Andrea da Montefeltro

At the Castello dei Conti Oliva in Piandimeleto, a major anthology curated by Annalisa Di Maria explores Neoplatonism and the universal roots of humanity through the sculptural mastery of Andrea da Montefeltro.

Editorial Staff  |  Piandimeleto (PU)  |  July 10, 2026

There is a material that knows no time. It traverses centuries without ever betraying itself, silently safeguarding the memory of civilizations, the breath of landscapes, and the labor of human hands. This material is stone. It is from stone—and its stubborn fidelity to its own nature—that the artistic research of Andrea da Montefeltro takes shape. He is the protagonist of a major national exhibition at the Castello dei Conti Oliva in Piandimeleto, titled ARCANA: The Lion of the New Horizon.

The exhibition, which opened on July 10, 2026, and will be on display until September 30 in the frescoed halls of one of the most evocative architectural landmarks in the Montefeltro region, acts as an authentic pilgrimage for the eyes. Under the artistic direction of Annalisa Di Maria—an internationally renowned scholar and one of the world’s leading experts on Leonardo da Vinci and Neoplatonic thought—the event restores to art its original vocation: to be a tool for thought, dialogue, and knowledge.

The Symbiosis of Matter and Spirit

The stone that Andrea polishes and chisels with delicate mastery is pierced and opened from within, resulting in airy lightness, almost suspended in nothingness. It is a perfect symbiosis between raw material and the artist’s hand, emphasizing the skill of one who adopts stone as a “matter/symbol” for profound, polyvalent, and piercing messages. Before these sculptures, light-years away from commercial logic and the ephemeral trends of the contemporary world, it becomes impossible to dismiss the work with the common superficial remark: “What’s the big deal, I could have done that too.”

The artist does not merely show; he incessantly has something to tell. His works are not mere aesthetic exercises, but “arks of knowledge.” In this journey, the challenge to the unknown, as an innate human need, manifests through cultured and powerful references: from the myth of divided between Templars and Saracens in an ancient struggle that retains its dramatic contemporary relevance.Odysseus in The Bow of No One to the rigorous metaphor of the Chessboard, where pawns are 

“The future is not born from the erasure of memory, but from the ability to recognize, preserve, and transform it into a new possibility for dialogue.”

Neoplatonism and Renaissance in the Montefeltro

The choice of the Castello dei Conti Oliva is not accidental. For over five centuries, this residence dominated the Foglia Valley, a Renaissance crossroads of ideas and culture in dialogue with Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro, and the great Italian courts. In this setting, ARCANA reties the thread to the past, proposing a New Humanism founded on responsibility and the centrality of the person.

As artistic director Annalisa Di Maria emphasizes, Neoplatonism is not reduced here to a decorative repertoire or an exhibition slogan: “It is one of the highest philosophical elaborations of Western civilization, capable of putting art, science, spirituality, and the search for truth into dialogue.” The exhibition, created by the Municipality of Piandimeleto with the patronage of the Marche Region and the support of the Florence UNESCO Club, is an official part of the national journey marking the 800th Anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, featuring a section dedicated to the values of peace, brotherhood, and harmony with Creation.

A Solitary Navigator Between Myth and Modernity

Andrea da Montefeltro moves through today’s landscape as a solitary navigator guided by the North Star of art’s deep roots. Works such as The Swans or The Celestial Hierarchy appear as a Divine Comedy imagined and sculpted in rock. The baskets of daily food products, which recall the lessons of Arcimboldo and the great past masters like Mantegna and the Della Robbia, open onto a global Eden that goes far beyond consumption, questioning the observer on major ethical, metaphysical, and ecological themes.

In an age dominated by the ephemeral and by the carpe diem mentality, this sculptural body of work reminds us that art is called upon to offer a fundamental contribution to the culture of a conscious existence. Under his blows, stone ceases to be inert matter and becomes a vigilant guardian of the past and a prophecy of a new human horizon.

EXHIBITION INFORMATION

Title	ARCANA — The Lion of the New Horizon. National exhibition by Andrea da Montefeltro
Artistic Direction	Annalisa Di Maria
Venue	Castello dei Conti Oliva, Piandimeleto (PU)
Dates	July 10 – September 30, 2026
Hours	Every day: 9:00 – 12:00 | 16:30 – 18:30 (Guided tours with the artist upon reservation)
Patronage	Municipality of Piandimeleto, Marche Region, Florence UNESCO Club

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