Cristallina Marble: between art, sculpture, and contemporary design

Cristallina marble is not just a material: it is a universal language that spans centuries of history, transforming today into a meeting point between art, culture, and contemporary design. Extracted from the only marble quarry in Peccia, Switzerland, this extraordinary white marble continues to inspire sculptors, designers, and international brands, becoming a symbol of creativity and innovation.

The International Sculpture Center: an alpine hub for art

In 2021, the International Sculpture Center (CIS) was inaugurated in Peccia, Val Lavizzara: a cultural project that uniquely enhances three-dimensional art and Cristallina marble. The CIS is a true creative laboratory, offering workshops for marble, wood, and metal processing, welcoming international artists selected through competitions, and hosting temporary exhibitions and interdisciplinary events that transform the small alpine village into an open window to the world of contemporary art.

Thanks to this initiative, Peccia has today become an international reference point, where artisanal tradition merges with the most current artistic research. Here, Cristallina marble takes center stage in a narrative that unites nature, community, and contemporary sculpture.

The Peccia Sculpture School: an open academy for all

Next to the CIS stands the historic Peccia Sculpture School, founded to make art accessible to everyone: beginners, enthusiasts, and professionals alike. The school offers courses in marble, wood, and metal, as well as drawing, modeling, and art history seminars. It is a place to experiment, learn, and live an artistic experience immersed in the nature of the Upper Valmaggia, with the possibility of renting studio-apartments for a deeper creative journey. In this context too, Cristallina marble becomes a central element, capable of stimulating the creativity of all who approach the world of sculpture.

Milena Naef and Three Time Spanning

Among the contemporary artists who have chosen Cristallina marble for their work is Milena Naef, a German artist of Swiss origin, born into a family of stone carvers. Through her research, she carries forward and at the same time renews a tradition deeply rooted in the history of natural stone.

Her work Three Time Spanning, presented as part of Ground/work 2025 at the Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts, represents one of her most ambitious projects. The sculpture consists of two large slabs of Cristallina marble, Switzerland’s only marble, intersecting and dialoguing with a fallen tree recovered directly from the museum grounds. The complex geometry of the structure, particularly the angled joint that holds the slabs together, pays tribute to the traditional skills of stone masonry.

At the heart of the work lies the intimate mark the artist leaves in the material: a carved hollow, perfectly matching the outline of her body, a subtle trace of a fleeting presence. With this gesture, Naef inscribes herself and her experience into the long history of craftsmanship that binds her family to Cristallina marble. Three Time Spanning thus becomes an open conversation between the artist, the materials, and the site. It is a work that speaks of memory and belonging, but also of fragility and transformation, offering the public a poetic dialogue between body, nature, and stone.

Cristallina Design: a new collection inspired by the territory

Today, Cristallina marble is not only art and sculpture but also contemporary design. With the launch of Cristallina Design, a brand born in 2025, Swiss marble has entered the world of luxury with a collection of 19 objects divided into 6 lines.

Each piece draws inspiration from the alpine landscape and the millennial history of Cristallina marble, transforming the stone into unique, sustainable, and timeless design objects. From the quarry to the workshop in Biasca, every detail tells the story of artisanal excellence combined with contemporary aesthetics. Cristallina Design thus positions itself as a bridge between past and future, rooting its creations in Swiss marble tradition while projecting them onto the international design scene.