Pistoia-born artist Maria Cristina Palandri opens up after presenting her latest book to the Holy Father, a work supported by the Giorgio Tesi ETS Foundation to rediscover the ethical value of creation through the symbolism of the dove and a reference to Renaissance roots. This insightful interview explores the artist’s role as a custodian of spiritual messages and truth.
Receiving the Holy Father’s blessing is a moment that profoundly impacts an artist’s life. What was the overwhelming feeling in personally handing ‘Julius and the Dove of Peace’ to Pope Leo, and what word or look from the Pontiff struck you most during your exchange?
First of all, I must say that “nothing happens by chance. Getting to personally present the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, with a book written and illustrated in 2017 was a real surprise, albeit a much-desired one.
In February 2025, I felt the need to bring this story to life, and thanks to the Giorgio Tesi Group Foundation, which believed in this project, it was accepted and published. My desire was undoubtedly to deliver it to the Pope. At the special audience on December 13, 2025, for the Living Nativity Scene, together with the entire Giorgio Tesi Group team, who made sure I was there too. At the end of the audience, while Pope Leo XIV was passing by to say his goodbyes, I found myself in front of him and handed him the book “Giulio and the Dove of Peace,” telling him, “This book is for all the children of the world.” In response, he said, “I will read it.” His gaze was visibly moved, and in that moment, I felt I had done the right thing.
Your latest work addresses a universal and timely theme: peace, filtered through the eyes of a child.
In a time of great global tensions, how can the figure of Giulio and the symbol of the dove help children—and perhaps even adults—rediscover the value of brotherhood?
I’ve always talked about peace, ever since I started painting. Since the first oil tanker that “invaded the sea” in 1978, I have always felt the need to talk about nature and peace, culminating in 2004 with the solo exhibition “Peace, a Gift,” a traveling exhibition that opened in Pistoia in the Frescoed Rooms of the Palazzo di Giano, then traveled to Parlesca, Torre Strozzi, and finally Perugia. Clearly, it begins with an inner peace and leads to peace among all human beings, through the Dove of Peace, as a universal symbol of love, compassion, benevolence, altruism, and respect. Who, today as in the past, can perceive all this so naturally? INNOCENCE! A forgotten word, yet one we always find only in children, and only through them can we remember
that we too were once children.
A short book written for those who have a future ahead of them where they can return to being authentic, human, full of hope and brotherhood, with the words I quote from the book “GIULIO AND THE DOVE OF PEACE.“
As an artist from Pistoia, you carry with you the cultural legacy of a land rich in history and sensitivity.
To what extent have your roots and your artistic journey influenced the genesis of this book, and how important is it to you that art continues to be the spokesperson for such strong ethical and spiritual messages?
I’ve been painting for over 40 years, and my feelings, as I’ve already said, have always been driven by what I feel, what I would like to express, what I believe in. My most important influence was the Renaissance, which I consider my school and which I still carry in my DNA today, moving over time from surrealism to symbolism, and then to everything that touches thought, through the world of literature, poetry, music, and the beauty of creation, in which I find hope. Today, I believe we need to listen again to what is important in life: words, time that allows us to explore, to seek within ourselves what was truly within us and what we surely still possess. Thus, silence and meditation on key and spiritual words often help us remember who we truly are and how small things become great…
Yours has been a long and successful artistic career. What are your plans for the near future?
My projects vary greatly; besides painting, I love sculpture, writing, and children’s books. Before starting, a project must begin with a spiritual, visual, or perceived impulse that touches the mind and reaches the heart; then a long journey begins, but always remaining a free being. My most important project is to carry this belief forward.
Text by the Editorial Staff
Photos by Carolina Begliomini and the Palandri Archive
Works by Cristina Palandri
