A blue artistic marble chalice presented to Pope Leo XIV

On 26 November 2025, Matteo Libanoro, master of the scagliola (stucco marble) technique, took part in the audience held in St Peter’s Square, stepping onto the platform from which Pope Leo XIV addresses the faithful. During the meeting, the artist presented the Pontiff with a blue art marble chalice, crafted with a mixture designed to evoke the depth of lapis lazuli, a shade historically associated with the sacred.

For over twenty-five years, Libanoro has been upholding the tradition of art marble in his workshop in Gattinara, reinterpreting a seventeenth-century technique with contemporary sensitivity. His works range from monumental interiors to super yachts, contexts in which art marble becomes a visual language and a customizable surface without limits of shape or color. In addition to his artistic activity, he teaches at the School of Arts and Crafts of St. Peter in the Vatican and collaborates with Italian institutes, contributing to the transmission of this skill.

He is currently working at Palazzo Torlonia in Rome, creating artistic marble wall finishes and ornamental frames for the building’s monumental staircase.

“Each of my works is born from a dialogue between material, color, and symbol,” says Libanoro. “For the chalice, I chose a lapis lazuli blue mixture because I have always associated this shade with light and the spiritual dimension.”