Stepping into the world of Marmomac is like crossing the threshold into a parallel universe where natural stone reigns supreme. But what links AI-driven robots, the sculptures of Maurizio Cattelan, Paolo Stella‘s candelabras, Hannes Peer‘s installation for Margraf at the last Milan Design Week, and the stern look of a quarry foreman? The answer is Marmomac, the event that celebrates natural stone in all its forms, from art to technology, from tradition to innovation.
November (2023), Maurizio Cattelan
The seventeenth edition of the Best Communicator Award shone with a new addition: the Forbes Selection category, which recognized individuals who have effectively, innovatively, and creatively communicated the world of natural stone in all its facets. The award went to artist Maurizio Cattelan, celebrated for his ability to combine artistic reflection and advanced technologies in his Carrara marble works exhibited in Bergamo.
Complementi collection, design Paolo Stella
Complementi collection, design Paolo Stella
Paolo Stella, influencer and creative director, was awarded for making marble accessible in the domestic sphere with his COM|PLE|MEN|TARE and POR|TAN|TE furniture lines. Finally, Hannes Peer, with his “Crash” installation created for Margraf at the Salone del Mobile 2025, received the award for overturning perceptions of marble, transforming it from a decorative surface into a dynamic material capable of evoking impact, fragility, and metamorphosis.
Yuri Ancarani, Il Capo, 2010, © Studio Ancarani, ZERO…, Isabella Bortolozzi Galerie
A special mention was reserved for Yuri Ancarani for his short film “Il Capo” (The Boss). Alongside this new category, the award maintained its original spirit, with awards dedicated to Marmomac 2025 exhibitors in the Visions, Natural Stone, and Technology categories. A tribute to excellence in communication, a fundamental element for enhancing a constantly evolving sector.
Robot One S by Robotor
The beauty of the stone, however, finds an equally fascinating counterpart in the halls dedicated to machinery. Here, where Italy confirms its undisputed leadership, presenting the latest innovations in robotics, artificial intelligence, and automation, the natural stone supply chain evolves, embracing sophisticated, sustainable mechanics increasingly integrated with digital technology, demonstrating that the sector’s excellence is also expressed through technology. A clear example is the company Robotor, which supports international artists, such as Jeff Koons and Maurizio Cattelan, in creating their sculptures using AI-driven robotics applied to stone.
The 2025 edition celebrated its aesthetic exceptionality with an artistic touch, projecting Yuri Ancarani’s “Il Capo.” The film, created in collaboration with Gemeg, a company that extracts and exports marble from its own quarries in Massa, continues to captivate, 15 years after its first appearance at the Venice Film Festival, conveying the primordial charm of the marble quarries. This year, the daily screenings of Ancarani’s masterpiece were accompanied by a unique sensory experience: a playlist dedicated to the sounds of marble, a sonic journey that takes the listener from the deep quarry extractions to the skilled processing in the workshop.
Fabula Litica – Photo © EnneVi
The beating heart of culture at Marmomac is undoubtedly The Plus Theatre, a laboratory of reflection and experimentation now in its fourth edition. This year, Hall 10 hosted talks, lectures, workshops, and four thematic exhibitions dedicated to the stone universe. Among the main attractions, “Fabula Litica: The Enchanted Forest“, an exhibition curated by Giuseppe Fallacara, presented a narrative landscape sculpted in natural stone, with a monumental forest of stone trees hosting projects born from the collaboration between prestigious universities and leading companies. Equally fascinating was the performative exhibition “Epiphanies,” curated by designer Raffaello Galiotto, which explored new application frontiers of natural stone, with a particular focus on 3D printing. The Plus Theatre also hosted “Liminal Stone. Memory and innovation in architecture,” a preview of finalist projects for the Dedalo Minosse prize, with a focus on the role of commissioning.
Planetario by Margraf, design Raffaello Galiotto – © RaffaelloGaliotto
The projects designed by Amedeo Schiattarella and Julie Gilbert of the Salima Naji studio stood out for their treatment of stone as an identifying element, materializing a cultural approach attentive to the value of matter and time. The talks at The Plus Theatre featured protagonists such as Davide Fabio Colaci, who offered a critical reflection on the role of ornament in architecture, and Yuri Ancarani, who explored the role of stone in contemporary creative expression. Geologist Grazia Signori and sound designer Tommaso Simonetta finally proposed a multisensory journey that combines scientific study of the stone, perception, and sound.
Antolini booth, design Alessandro La Spada
This year’s edition also attracted a veritable army of industry professionals: approximately 1,400 companies, generating an aggregate turnover of 10 billion euros, chose Verona to promote their business. The fair confirms itself as a global hub, with over two-thirds of the exhibitors coming from abroad and delegations from more than 40 markets, transforming Verona into the world capital of marble, granite, ornamental stones, and processing technologies.
