Statues have always been somewhat controversial: who they depict and what they are dedicated to. Yet, they prompt us to remember and reflect — typically on wars, heroes, and ideologies. So it’s only fitting that a new statue in Italy focuses on two of the biggest challenges of modern living: sustainability and mental health.

Italian artist Edoardo Malagigi chose to merge these two concepts through 3D printing.

“As a contemporary symbol of the need to care for society and the environment, this new equestrian statue called ‘Marco Cavallo of the XXI Century’, bears the burden of waste and pollution produced by people, imagining itself ideally immersed in it and emerging completely covered,” says 3D printer maker WASP in a statement. The statue was produced using two WASP large-format pellet 3D printers, the 3MT HDP.

The massive 3D printed monument within Parco San Salvi, the former psychiatric hospital in Florence, is made from recycled urban waste. 3D printed by Italian design company R3direct, the statue was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s preparatory drawings for an equestrian monument dedicated to Renaissance-era military leader Francesco Sforza, which was never realized.

Da Vinci could never have envisioned his monument constructed from plastic waste — marble or bronze would have been typical. Yet, despite being natural, marble and bronze entail a significant environmental impact during extraction, transportation, and final processing.

“Today, there are new mountains from which to extract valuable raw materials without causing environmental harm,” says WASP. “These mountains are found in every city: they are the heaps of urban waste that citizens produce and that the system must manage and dispose of, often with difficulty.”