An action that must be guided by common sense, reason (Dante’s virtue and knowledge), but also by feeling, emotion, and thus by art, which succeeds in conveying, sometimes much more incisively than scientific texts, even a complex message.

At the same time, the role of cultural institutions such as museums and ecomuseums becomes important as they can become activators of practices geared toward the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity and promoters of a sustainability-conscious mindset, that is, a habitus that empathizes with the habitat.

In this perspective, biodiversity is revealed to be not only biological data, but a heritage of living beauty, understood as an interweaving of forms, relationships and meanings that require attention, study and contemplation that can even go so far as to overturn the current estheticizing expression.

The way the term beauty is used is hopefully provocative. Picking up on the words of Renzo Piano, “beauty is never only aesthetic, rather it is a fragile balance between ethics and poetry, between technique and lightness. It is something that is built with patience, respect and listening: of the place, of the light, of the wind, of the people,” and we add of nature, which is precisely biodiverse.

The term beauty, and the idea that biodiversity is a form of beauty, in this context therefore goes far beyond the aesthetic dimension and has more to do withharmony, withbalance. The aesthetic beauty of biodiversity, which although it exists and is manifested in the colors of a coral reef, in birdsong or in the variety of flowers blooming in meadows, is not enough to understand what it is. In fact, biodiversity is not only something to be admired; it is also an ethical value, which can conflict with what is beautiful and useful for humans.

For example, letting tall lawns grow in the city is a choice that promotes biodiversity. These spaces provide shelter and nourishment for pollinating insects, which are crucial for crops. Protecting bees, butterflies and other insects means ensuring the regular cycle of food production. Wild meadows, seldom considered beautiful and frequently deemed unfit for human use, not only support the food production cycle but also reduce pesticide use. Thus, cities, by promoting them, become allies of the environment and food security.

All living expressions have a right to exist, regardless of their function for humans. Defending biodiversity means recognizing the deep connection between humans and nature, and taking responsibility for protecting it is an act of justice, which scholars researchers and cultural institutions must take on, toward future generations and all life forms.

The exhibition is part of the activities of the National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), and in particular the research group of the Department of Sociology and Social Research of the University of Milan-Bicocca.