Reception, ticket office, but also a museum shop, in its 300 m² Cittadellarte Store offers a variety of souvenirs and gift ideas.
At the entrance, visitors are greeted by a section devoted to promoting local museums and activities. This is located next to a small waiting area, equipped with some special seats and a video presentation of the Pistoletto Foundation. The four chairs, arranged in a circle, immediately draw attention because of their multicoloured upholstery. These are made by designer Susanna Guaschino and are part of the project La sedia Soldato di pace (The Peace Soldier Chair), repurposing military blankets, associated with war contexts, as covers for objects used in peace contexts. The room furniture of the actual shop, designed by Armona Pistoletto, is composed of numerous showcases and shelves displaying the articles for sale, most of them created exclusively for Cittadellarte Store. The selection of products reflects the ethics of Michelangelo Pistoletto‘s work, featuring sustainable producers and supporting creative projects oriented towards a responsible social transformation. The person in charge of the Store, reception and ticketing is Elena Pasquali.

Accessories
Make up bags, key rings, bracelets, shoppers and mobile phone bags, all bearing the symbol of the Third Paradise, are handcrafted as part of a project promoted by the social cooperative Officina Creativa, located inside Lecce’s prison. Each item is created with discarded fabrics from local textile industries, reconverted into a creative resource. The link between Cittadellarte and this organization was established a long time ago, thanks to a collaboration with the cooperative’s president, Luciana Delle Donne, who, with the motto “We don’t sell products but life projects”, is committed to a social transformation, and specifically to providing opportunities of rehabilitation for women prisoners. A concrete example of how, through creative, training and reintegration projects, people – in this case women – can build themselves a second chance within civil society and the world of work.

Clothing
A selected line of T-shirts with print or embroidery of the Third Paradise, characterised by the use of natural and sustainable materials, offers sizes for adults and children in various colours. Also on display at the store are the VALSAAR eco-sustainable trainers by Barbera Scarpe, a historic company from Biella. The shoes are available to order, directly from the company, in various colours and materials. The owners, Stefano and Alessandro Barbera, are Rebirth / Third Paradise ambassadors (we interviewed them in a previous article).
A further section of the store is dedicated to sustainable clothes made by fashion designer Flavia La Rocca: a selection of modulated garments inspired by workers’ clothing. Winner of two Vogue – Green Carpet awards, the sustainable fashion designer has been collaborating with Fashion B.E.S.T from the start of the project and with Accademia Unidee as a professor.

Gadgets and Jewellery
In addition to gadgets and classic museum merchandise, such as magnets, postcards, pins, notebooks and pens, customised with the trinamic symbol, a visit to the Pistoletto Foundation also offers the possibility of purchasing precious accessories to be able to “wear” the Third Paradise. The jewellery lines, featuring earrings, pendants, bracelets and necklaces, are made by local artisans and Rebirth/Third Paradise ambassadors (i.e. Anna Arnaldi and Savina Tarsitano), and are displayed alongside Cittadellarte’s historical jewellery line designed by Armona Pistoletto and made by Art Box.

Food, cosmetics, ceramic plates and cups
The jars of honey and sets of organic cosmetics are made by the local producers of Pacefuturo Onlus, also involved in Cittadellarte’s Let Eat Bi project. Their workshops teams are made up of professionals supported by people with frailty or awaiting integration into the community. Pacefuturo is recognised for its commitment to responsible social transformation, as well as for hosting in its garden the first Third Paradise installation, created in 2004.
An entire display is dedicated to the collaboration with Illy, partner company of the project UNIDEE Residency Programs. As well as producing special coffee cans and limited editions cups with graphics inspired by Pistoletto’s art, Illy has for some time now been promoting various competitions for artists-in-residence centred on the design of coffee cans; the UNIDEE residents’ winning projects are on display, along with the reflecting wedgeespresso cups designed by Michelangelo Pistoletto and those created by Rufus Willis. On a table, three are the phrases that characterise the sets of plates designed by Armona Pistoletto: Art at the Centre of Responsible Social Transformation, Every Product Assumes Social Responsibility and Artist Sponsor of Thought.
Also available for sale are the bottles of the herb liquor Cordiale del Barro, a project-product of the rural food branch of ArtStation#1 in Lecco.

Bookshop
The bookshop area offers a selection of books dedicated to Cittadellarte’s projects

and to the themes of responsible social transformation, as well as monographs and publications on Michelangelo Pistoletto. Among the books by the artist is The Formula of Creation, the latest volume published by Cittadellarte Editions.
A selection of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s multiple works are also for sale at the Store.
All products can be purchased on the Cittadellarte Store website and at the Pistoletto Foundation’s sales point located in Biella, Via Serralunga 27, open from Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For further information:
Email: store@cittadellarte.it | Tel. +39.015.8971064