Plus Ultra (Latin for "further beyond, surpassing one’s limits") was the motto of Charles V, set in contrast to the mythical Non plus ultra of Hercules, which marked the impassable boundary beyond the Pillars. The motto expressed an ideology of imperial expansion, discovery, and the transcendence of human limits, and it was widely adopted in the symbolism of his empire.

An expression that over time has lost its historical connotations to become a cultural paradigm, a symbol of unlimited ambition in the rhetoric of individual efficiency.

Fast forward to the 21st century, a curious link between past and present emerges in an image published by Donald Trump in 2017 on the occasion of his inauguration. The photograph was taken at his Mar-a-Lago residence, where the President of the United States appears in a room decorated with tiles bearing the motto Plus Ultra and a statue of an eagle—creating a striking aesthetic resonance with the imperial symbols of Charles V.

Through a critical reinterpretation that intertwines history, philosophy, and pop culture, I tried to deconstruct this drive toward the “beyond.” What captured my attention during my research was the episode of the Siege of Metz in 1552 – in which the defenders mock Charles V with a banner proclaiming Non Ultra Metas (“not beyond Metz” and “not beyond limits”). Could we use it as a case study, an emblem of a possible counter-narrative? An invitation to recognize limits as a form of resistance, as a possibility to escape the imperative of limitless progress?