In the afternoon, at 4:00 PM, the conversation continued on the theme of books and artworks during the meeting “Salvaging the Treasures of Knowledge and Art”, coordinated by Livia Pomodoro, who introduced the speakers: “I have always lived in the world of art, and I have always believed that there is a moment of salvation made available to us: this moment depends on the beauty we find in art and on our ability to see and appreciate it”.

The first speaker was Monsignor Marco Navoni, Prefect of the Ambrosiana Library: “I immediately accepted to participate in this debate when I read the title: ‘Salvaging the Treasures of Knowledge and Art’. The treasures of knowledge immediately evoke the idea of the library, while the treasures of art call to mind the museum, the art gallery. And clearly, as the representative of the Ambrosiana Library and Art Gallery, I find myself perfectly aligned with this dual realm where culture finds its highest expression. Studying and approaching the truth, I always like to use the image of the transcendental ideas from ancient Greek philosophy in the library, and approaching and permeating the beauty in the museum-gallery. All of this ties in with another aspect that made me accept the invitation right away: between the nuns of Viboldone and the Ambrosiana, there has been a nearly decade-long relationship, specifically regarding the preservation of heritage, in this case not so much the artistic heritage of the art gallery, but the cultural heritage of the library. The Benedictines of Viboldone have always been one of the preferred choices in the Ambrosiana when it comes to restoring the heritage we preserve. I would like to mention in particular two events, among the many manuscripts on which the Prefect pro tempore has written: ‘Restored in Viboldone in the year…’. There are many, but I’d like to recall two episodes that marked the history of the Ambrosiana and my personal history. Shortly after I arrived, around 1991, 1992, a singular event occurred: a series of incunabula, extremely rare printed books from the mid-1400s to the 1500s, were damaged by humidity. They were physically brought here and carefully ‘treated’ one by one. I remember personally coming to the laboratory where, with fans, a somewhat pioneering technique at the time, compared to the technology available today, these incunabula were aired and later returned in perfect condition for library visitors to enjoy. I’d also like to remember another special operation, the unbinding of the Atlantic Codex of Leonardo. You know that the Ambrosiana houses the largest collection of Leonardo’s writings in the world: 1,119 sheets, which, for various reasons and based on somewhat questionable criteria from the mid-1960s, were somehow bound into eleven volumes, causing significant issues for accessibility and study due to the mixing of sheets… So, in 2009, for the centenary of the Ambrosiana and in preparation for the 2019 centenary of Leonardo’s death, the great operation was ordered to unbind the sheets of the Atlantic Codex. This work was not done at the Abbey laboratory, but for security reasons, it was carried out locally at the Ambrosiana by the nuns of Viboldone, who were given permission to break their cloister for trips to Milan. The sheets were freed from their ‘cage’, and now, thanks to this delicate operation carried out by the hands of the Benedictines of Viboldone, they can be displayed on rotation and lent for exhibitions around the world, even in Japan, Australia, and the United States…”.

Next, the Emeritus Abbess Mother Ignazia Angelini explained the recovery of some Arabic codices in the Viboldone laboratory: a passionate work that led the Benedictines to not only learn about a different culture but also about books that differ from the Western tradition, both in terms of the paper used and their bindings. “Next year, we will begin restoration work on the papyri from the Egyptian monasteries… Praying is love for sacred texts, and has a spiritual dimension”, concluded Mother Ignazia.

Serafina Pignotti, a professor at the Brera Academy in Material Technologies for Restoration, brought greetings from the director Gaetano Fanelli and outlined the educational activities of the Brera School of Restoration: “I am here to briefly present a well-established reality in the area, thanks to the work done by Livia Pomodoro during her presidency at the Academy, along with Professor Franco Marrocco and Professor Luciano Formica, who were the foundation for the creation of this School. Its operational headquarters is in the former stables of Villa Borromeo d’Adda in Arcore, where the restoration and conservation laboratories are located. Arcore is not the only centre for these activities, as there are also external sites, such as the Monumental Cemetery of Milan and the Church of Sant’Ambrogio in Legnano, where the restoration of a cycle of frescoes is underway… Our reality, as I mentioned earlier, is deeply rooted in the area and goes beyond the Lombardy region… Among the active profiles at the School, one is dedicated to paintings on wooden and textile supports, as well as the entire field related to contemporary art, i.e., synthetic artifacts… We are particularly proud, Monsignor Navoni was with us, of the restoration by our students of the Apostles cycle painted in the 1600s by Giuseppe Vermiglio and preserved at the Museum of Sant’Eustorgio…”. Among the contemporary artists’ works restored, Serafina Pignotti mentioned Pino Pinelli and Emilio Isgrò. She also spoke about the paper and photographic sectors, the cleaning of plasters with lasers, and the large mosaic by Gino Severini in Gibellina.

The meeting concluded with an intervention by Salvatore Carrubba, who emphasized the importance of walking: “This initiative started by Livia Pomodoro is an invitation to practice walking, to share it, and especially to reflect during the journey. And since we are almost on the eve, as in less than two weeks the Jubilee, of which this initiative is a part of, will begin, I would like to recall what the spokesperson of St. Peter’s Basilica writes on this topic. The Basilica will, in fact, be the culminating centre of the pilgrimage that will lead millions of people to Rome. Father Enzo Fortunato, in his very recent book ‘Living the Jubilee’, writes that the journey “is the story of each individual intertwined with that of many others”. He adds, “The journey is memory, it is a school that shapes and teaches us, it is experience”. The concept of Homo viator (the traveling man) is also referenced by Monsignor Fisichella, the Pope’s delegate organizer for the Holy Year, who, in another recently published book, emphasizes how significant the experience of the journey is for shaping both the Christian identity and the human experience in general”.
Salvatore Carrubba also highlighted the importance of choosing Abbeys, where one can rediscover the strength of tradition, an irreplaceable element of our identity and civilization. In the time of the Abbey of Viboldone and its painted cycle, the medieval man would have seen no more than forty images throughout his entire life, whereas the modern person sees around 500,000 per day. Carrubba also recalled Pope Paul VI’s appreciation of contemporary art “for its formative and educational factor”, closing with a quote from Gustav Mahler: “Tradition is preserving the fire, not worshipping the ashes”.

The eighteenth stop was the Abbey of Morimondo, where on Thursday, December 12, the theme of the day was Biodiversity.
Surrounded by the green of the Ticino Park, just a few kilometres from Milan and bordering the Pavia region, the monastery was founded in 1134 by Cistercian monks from Morimond in France, one of the four original Cistercian Abbeys founded by Cȋteaux. After a long period of prosperous development, the complex was sold and divided into real estate units during the suppression of monastic orders in the Napoleonic era. At the end of 1982, it was purchased by the Municipality of Morimondo and transformed into a museum complex, while the Abbey Church remains an integral part of the Parish of Santa Maria Nascente.
The visitor is astounded by these magnificent buildings, which feature highly intricate and layered spaces, perched on a small hill by the Bereguardo Canal. These are ancient remnants of a time when the Abbey’s holdings included over 3,000 hectares of cultivated fields and forests, with dependencies, warehouses, and mills scattered along the streams. Today, only a residual testimony of this wealth remains in the architectural decorations, the design, and the size of the buildings.

After the guided tour of the Abbey, the conference began at 11:00 AM in the Chapter Hall with the theme: “Biodiversity: Environmental and Social Value in the Lombard Agricultural Production Model” chaired by Livia Pomodoro and coordinated by Tonino Bettanini, Director of In cammino – Abbeys of Europe.

Tonino Bettanini introduced the discussion by explaining: “A group of Cistercian monks from the Abbey of Morimond, located in Haute-Marne, laid the first stones of this monastery in the 12th century, reclaiming the land around here and establishing a system of springs and marshes that allowed for optimal crop yields. Morimond in France was one of the first four Abbeys, along with La Ferté, Pontigny, and Clairvaux, founded by the mother house of Cȋteaux… The name Morimondo evokes ‘dying to the world’, meaning living as resurrected… A sign of the wealth of this Abbey, which in its time attracted many vocations, was its flourishing agricultural activity and the scriptorium, where the monks transcribed manuscripts and documents”.

Institutional greetings were given by the Mayor of Morimondo, Marco Andrea Iamoni, followed by greetings from Don Giancarlo Sala, the Parish Priest of Santa Maria Nascente, and Davide Carnevali, President of the Rotary Club Morimondo Abbazia.

The first intervention was by Claudio Serafini, who stated: “I would like to examine the word ‘biodiversity’ from three different perspectives. The first concerns its meaning; the second is about its connection with the community, understood as dialogue or the union of people around shared values; and the third aspect is what we can do to safeguard biodiversity. Regarding the first point, we can say that it represents the variety of life, of creation, where ‘variety’ is not just an arithmetic calculation… For the next point, the relationship between community and biodiversity, we can clearly understand that without it, there would be no resources available to sustain our lives. I remind you that about a third of the essential foods for humans depend on the action of pollinating insects… The same goes for medicines mostly derived from natural and plant-based products… So, what can be done to preserve biodiversity? In Europe, we must actively participate in the open dialogue between institutions, the agricultural world, and environmental associations. I remind you that the goal of the European Green Deal is to dedicate 25% of agricultural land to organic farming by 2030, while today we are at about 10%. And it’s clear that the reaction from traditional agricultural sectors has been very strong. But it is also true that this is the path to preserving biodiversity and ensuring a future for the planet”.

Next, Maurizio Rivolta, a Councilor for the Ticino Park and Vice President of the FAI (the National Trust for Italy), spoke: “Lately, there has been more talk about biodiversity, whereas it used to be a topic only addressed by professionals in the field. In fact, it is an important issue for daily life. The previous speaker mentioned the role of pollinating insects: it has been calculated that if they disappeared, the GDP would decrease drastically. There is also the aspect of quality of life: think about the invasive exotic species that are spreading in our territory, from tiger mosquitoes to stink bugs… This is an issue that should not be left to environmentalists but concerns all of us every day… The Ticino Park, with its over 90,000 hectares, was the first regional park in Italy to be established and the first European river park. Created in 1974 to protect the Ticino River and the rich biodiversity of its territory, it stretches from Lake Maggiore to the confluence of the Po River, encompassing habitats that range from alpine landscapes to the plains, with spring fields in between. It is an area of great natural value and dense human habitation… Within it, there are 14 Special Areas of Conservation, a European Site of Importance, and a Special Protection Area. One example is the Fagiana reserve, with twenty-two different types of butterflies… The Park is also located along the migratory routes of birds traveling annually from North Africa to Europe and vice versa… Regarding organic and intensive farming, the latter involves large monoculture fields that impoverish biodiversity and are harmful to its health, while the former implements varied farming with multiple production types, guaranteeing less quantity but higher quality products. Therefore, the costs of intensive agriculture ultimately fall on the entire community… The wolf has also reappeared in the Park, which plays a natural regulatory role among the species of the area…”.

The topic of biodiversity, agriculture, and landscape was addressed by Maddalena Gioia Gibelli, President of the House of Agriculture.

“How has the Lombard agricultural landscape changed over the years? In the 20th century, we had 6,000 different agricultural species; today, we have only 60 plants. In the past century, people mostly ate seasonal vegetables, but today the diet is rich in animal products, fats, sugars, and salts. The agriculture of the future will mostly be cultural… The Po Valley, until the year 1000, was full of monks and, thanks to springs and marshes, abundant in water. Morimondo was founded after 1100 by Cistercians, and at that time, there was a strong connection between food and health, food and medicinal herbs. Hay represented the oil of that era and the subsequent ones when transport was ensured by horses, and oxen plowed the fields. Milan was a rich and powerful city precisely because of its abundant crops. In the 1400s, the Sforza family planted rice, which was a novelty and an evolution for Milanese agriculture, challenging the centuries and bringing significant socio-economic development… After the Second World War, a gap between humans and agriculture emerged… In Italy, the population density is 0.8 per square kilometre, with 196 inhabitants per square kilometre in 2020. We also have a remarkable variety of landscapes, from the highest peaks in Europe, like Mont Blanc, to the Po Valley. There are also 60,000 native species… Therefore, we must protect, support, and increase the relationship between food, culture, agriculture, and biodiversity”.

Patrizia Digiovinazzo, an ERSAF technician, explained the functions of the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Forestry Services. Essentially, ERSAF is the technical arm of the Lombardy Region responsible for carrying out activities to develop and innovate the agricultural, forestry, and rural land sectors.
For the agricultural sector, its functions include specialized training, assistance, the development of technological innovation, and enhancing the competitiveness of companies, as well as promoting Lombardy’s agricultural products, including organic farming. Regarding the forestry sector and rural land, its functions include managing and enhancing regional assets and supporting biodiversity.

Digiovinazzo particularly highlighted two ERSAF projects: one for biodiversity in Lombardy and the Life Gestire 2020 project. The first aims to implement investment interventions to safeguard biodiversity and improve ecological connections in green areas. The second, lasting eight years, involves 436 projects across 246 sites: 115 in the Alpine biogeographic region, 131 in the continental region. ERSAF is also involved in a project on “urban biodiversity” led by the University of Milano-Bicocca.

Paolo Mira, Director and Curator of the Morimondo Abbey Museum, concluded the debate by discussing the establishment of the museum complex.

The Abbey was built in Coronate, halfway between Milan and Pavia. It was the fourth Cistercian settlement founded in Italy, located on the major roadways of the time: a somewhat isolated place, yet accessible to the nearby commercial routes. “An isolated place, but not a desert”, remarked Professor Mira.

Today, the entire Abbey complex is a museum open to both free and guided tours. The Angelo Comolli Civic Museum, located on the first floor of the Town Hall, houses works by the Liberty-style painter and fresco artist Angelo Comolli (Milan, 1863 – Morimondo, 1949), one of the first to be actively involved in preserving this historical site.

At 3:30 PM, in the same Chapter Hall, the event “The Colours of Biodiversity” took place, coordinated by Tonino Bettanini, with contributions from Gloria Mari, President of the “Nocetum Social Cooperative”; Reverend Father Stefano Zanolini, Abbot of Chiaravalle; Don Virginio Colmegna, Honorary President of the Casa della Carità; and Annastella Gambini, Professor of Biology Education for primary and early childhood school teachers at the University of Milano-Bicocca.

The debate was presided over by Livia Pomodoro, who engaged with the speakers by posing some insightful questions.

She opened with the following remarks: “When we talk about biodiversity, we cannot forget humanity… Present with us are individuals who speak about humanity to humanity, and from man to man… We must pay attention and care for the environment, emphasizing its beauty: only then will we be worthy of the word ‘humanity’”.

Gloria Mari, shared her experience: “I’ve been part of the coordinating group of the Italian Episcopal Conference for the Custody of Creation since 2001. I’m also the president of Nocetum, a one-hectare piece of land in the Valle dei Monaci, near Chiaravalle Milanese, where we focus on the care of people. It was Pope Francis who reminded us that the cry of the suffering earth is the cry of the poor, and it will be the cry of all… The bees connect us to Chiaravalle: even Saint Bernard was called Doctor mellifluus. Our bees are raised by professional beekeepers and by people with vulnerabilities. And the swarms move, so I say they are the ones connecting us to Chiaravalle… Pope Francis warned us in the encyclical ‘Laudato si’’ about the loss of biodiversity, a theme echoed in his exhortation ‘Laudate Deum’. Beyond the spiritual sphere, there is also the UN program outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development… The apiary at Nocetum is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary and stands as a symbol of life… Finally, I would like to recall the speech that Archbishop Monsignor Delpini addressed to our city, Milan, on the occasion of the recent feast of Saint Ambrose”.

“The Cistercians have always worked with the land. – Opened Father Stefano Zanolini. – And in their work, they were, and still are, in direct contact with biodiversity. My predecessors entered the monastery in search of God: this did not mean being closed off to the laws inscribed in nature, which call for the stewardship of creation. They were immersed in a world of relationships, a world characterized by an immense variety of factors. They engaged in deforestation, reforestation, animal husbandry, water and fish reserves, and product processing. Beyond the fundamental search for God, there was the maintenance of the monastery and reaching out to others. This balance could be severely tested by negative elements. It was a balance built on reciprocal relationships, beneficial to all and enjoyed by everyone, a stable equilibrium regulated by the Rule of Saint Benedict. The interactions among brothers could foster positive or negative, balanced or unbalanced, relationships. The Benedictine Rule does not depict a perfect community, but a human one… Without relationships, one dies. To live is to connect with the surrounding world, to build an atmosphere of mutual trust. ‘Let the monks show each other honour and respect’, prescribes Saint Benedict. Relationships bring warmth and colour. The colour of a person is the colour of their relationships, of our relationships… Benedict, in his Rule, places the human being at the centre… Caring for humanity ensures that the journey continues”.

“I think of Casa della Carità – emphasized Don Colmegna – as a place that listens to the cry of the poor. In Abbeys, the guesthouse was synonymous with hospitality. Today, we need monasteries, guesthouses, silence around us. We need to see the colours of the rainbow again… I think of the cry of that eleven-year-old girl, alone on that boat crossing the Mediterranean. Why do we not hear her cry? Why are we indifferent, insensitive, and passive?…”.

“The colour of war-torn rubble is grey – said Livia Pomodoro, addressing Don Colmegna. – So I would like to ask you: what is the colour of the future that awaits us?”

“Colours inspire the desire for the future… The rainbow evokes wonder, but unfortunately, young people no longer feel wonder – there is no more amazement!”…

The event was concluded by Professor Annastella Gambini.

“Biodiversity is intrinsic to life and has developed alongside it. When we analyse the soil, which is like the skin, the membrane of our planet, we can find, in just one hundred grams of earth, approximately one hundred billion bacteria, five hundred different species of protozoa, and ten thousand nematodes. The soil must indeed be considered a living organism in itself… Why must biodiversity be safeguarded? Just consider that 40% of the medicines we take come from plants… Therefore, protecting all of the planet’s ecosystems and their natural variety means investing in the future of our health and, ultimately, in the future of humanity”.

After a video message from Maestro Fabio Vacchi, the concert “Archiworld: The World as a Great Orchestra” by the Archimia Quartet brought the event to a close on December 12. In the packed Chapter Hall of Morimondo, the notes of Dvořák resonated alongside pieces by Britney