BEYOND STONE: MATTER & INGENUITY
From April 7th to 13th, during the most eagerly awaited days for design enthusiasts, Antolini® invites you to discover natural stone in a new light — one that pays tribute to the grandeur of nature and human genius. On the occasion of Milan Design Week 2025, the Stoneroom at Antolini® MilanoDuomo will present an exclusive collaboration with Murran Billi, a Florentine artist who has made versatility the creative driving force of his career.
His art doesn’t arise from mere imagination, but from a deep observation of each individual slab. For Murran, stone is never just a material or a support: it is already a story, a hidden subject waiting to be revealed. Every surface, every block, with its veins and forms, contains the work of art itself — which emerges thanks to his artistic sensitivity. With an approach that echoes the Renaissance tradition that has nourished him from the beginning, the artist interprets matter to create works that speak to both past and present, bringing forth figures and details from the stone surface that seem to have always been there, lying dormant within it.
Four female faces emerge from the purity of Cristallo Vitrum “Wow” – a natural quartz from the brand’s Exclusive Collection – from the hypnotic liquid hues of Onice Bianco “Extra” and Onice Verde Persiano “Light,” and from the dynamic textures flowing across the surface of Cristallo Rosa “Wow” – also part of the Exclusive Collection.
They tell a story that echoes from the past, still resonating powerfully in a name: the de’ Medici. Or more precisely, four women who embody a perfect blend of beauty, strength, and intelligence — not merely muses, but true protagonists of politics and culture, capable of shaping the destiny of Florence and of Italy as a whole.
Every gesture, every word, emanated a refinement combined with a worldview capable of embracing and promoting art, culture, and innovation. The women of the de’ Medici knew how to protect the sense of family, raising it to a benchmark in the history of art and politics.
From Lucrezia Tornabuoni (1427–1482), mother of Lorenzo the Magnificent, an influential figure in Florentine politics and a great patron of the arts, to Clarice Orsini (c. 1453–1487), who married Lorenzo’s son and played a crucial role in educating the future Medici generation — including the future Pope Leo X.
From Lucrezia di Lorenzo de’ Medici (1470–1553), Lorenzo the Magnificent’s eldest daughter and an active participant in politics and family management, to Clarice de’ Medici (1489–1528), Lorenzo’s granddaughter, who took in and raised her brother’s daughter after his premature death — the young Caterina, destined to enter history as Queen of France and the one who brought the Italian Renaissance to the French court.
It was Caterina de’ Medici who marked the beginning of Murran’s artistic journey in stone. Displayed in the historic palace that once belonged to Cosimo de’ Medici, it was to her that the artist dedicated his first work in this material — an epiphany that sparked a new chapter in his career, a journey that now sees him as a global ambassador of Renaissance splendor reimagined in a contemporary key.
His works and Antolini®’s natural stone come together as a single expression of timeless beauty — where Italian tradition weaves seamlessly with innovation and modernity, taking Made in Italy to new heights of international prestige.
