Contemporary art and botany meet in a new open-air cultural space in Sicily. The interview

A new open-air cultural space called NEOS_VLTRA has launched in Vittoria, Sicily, blending contemporary art, spirituality, and botany. Founded by Roberto Riccio, entrepreneur and head of Galileo Global Education Italia, the project is set on seven agricultural plots surrounding Villa Yulia, a summer residence named after his late mother. The inaugural exhibition, "Beyond the Wall / Oltre il Muro," opens on September 10, 2026, featuring site-specific works by ten artists including Riccio, SexsDreams (Gioele Carradengo), and Elisabetta Trombello, all created around a monumental brutalist concrete enclosure.

This initiative matters because it challenges the traditional separation between exhibition spaces and natural landscapes, offering an immersive experience where art coexists with native vegetation and seasonal cycles. Riccio frames the project as a cultural and ethical necessity in an era of disconnection, aiming to restore art's role as a total experience that engages body, mind, and spirit. By creating a bridge between culture and nature, NEOS_VLTRA represents a growing trend of art spaces that prioritize ecological integration and spiritual renewal over sterile white cubes.