The National Committee took office with the task of planning, promoting and managing the events for the celebrations of the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo, as stated on decree 416 of 29 December 2023 signed by the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano.
The Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro will act as President of the Committee, whereas Chiara Regazzo will take on the role of Secretary-Treasurer, and Ca' Foscari University rector Tiziana Lippiello will preside over the Scientific Committee and act as the general coordinator.
“I wish to thank Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano for his support and to all the members of the Committee who will work for this important anniversary. A free and voluntary commitment - affirmed the Mayor at the beginning of his speech - It will be an inclusive program of events open to stakeholders from the cultural and the institutional world, but also from associations and the world of business and economy. There is great excitement for this initiative, and I hope that many Italian cities, European and worldwide countries will take part. For all of us, it will give the chance to discover contaminations, influences and memories that are still unknown today. A great cultural and economic journey to discover the current affairs of this great Venetian traveller and merchant, retracing the routes covered by him".
The celebrations for the 700 years of Marco Polo were amplified thanks to the 2024 Venice Carnival, entitled “Ad Oriente. The Extraordinary Journey of Marco Polo", and they are continuing with exhibitions, conferences, seminars and publications, both locally, nationally and internationally. The Redentore Festival will also have a fireworks display dedicated to Marco Polo, while the Historical Regata will recall the figure of the young Venetian traveller. The exhibition “The Axis of Time. Suzhou’s silk clothing fabrics”
will be open to visitors at Palazzo Mocenigo until February 29th, while waiting for the opening of the main exhibition at Palazzo Ducale, in the Doge's Quarters: “The worlds of Marco Polo. The journey of a Venetian merchant in the thirteenth century", planned from April 6th to September 29th. Many are the initiatives of a scientific, literary and cultural nature that will take place: all of them are constantly updated on the dedicated website leviedimarcopolo.it, and through the social media channels of Venezia Serenissima (Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok and Threads). The celebrations (and with them the National Committee) will last for three years; therefore, initiatives are also planned for 2025 and 2026.
The complete list of initiatives may be enriched with new proposals: on the official website www.leviedimarcopolo.it, also translated into English and Chinese, there is a dedicated section through which public and private stakeholders, who in various ways have historical ties with Marco Polo, and are interested in putting forward proposals to be included in the programme of events, are invited to submit their projects. What suggested will be part of a collective calendar that will be used as a tool for the promotion of activities and a communication platform addressed to an international audience, as wide as possible.
The notice regarding the submission of initiatives and projects is available on this website.
