Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Third Paradise arrives at Ulaanbaatar as a permanent work that combines contemporary art, Mongolian culture and environmental regeneration. Promoted by the Embassy of Italy in Mongolia, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth of Mongolia and the Pistoletto Cittadellarte Foundation, the initiative stems from the dialogue between Pistoletto’s sign and Battogtokh Turbat’s narrow Path, curated by Francesco Stocchi.
Inaugurated on 23 August 2026 by Ambassador Giovanna Piccarreta and Minister for the Environment Sandag‑Ochir during the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the work becomes a new meeting place between Italy and Mongolia. The sign of the Third Paradise, symbol of balance between nature and artifice, takes shape with seabuckthorn plantations, native species that contributes to the fight against desertification and the ‘Billion trees movement’. The project intertwines Pistoletto’s universal sign with Turbat’s nomadic materials (iron and bone), creating a place where cultural differences produce new forms of coexistence and an act of preventive peace based on culture, responsibility and care for the environment.
“The work is destined to remain in Mongolia, as a symbol of friendship between the two countries and as a testimony to the shared commitment to the promotion of peace, multilateralism, and environmental sustainability, as well as the common sensitivity to beauty and the value of culture and traditions, in both cases characterised by an important historical heritage,” stressed Ambassador Giovanna Piccarreta.
The project is carried out with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute in Beijing, the Chinggis Khaan National Museum, MIAT Mongolian Airlines and the National Garden Park in Ulaanbaatar.
