This year, the Venetonight, organized by Ca' Foscari University of Venice on the occasion of the European Researchers' Night, promoted by the European Commission every last Friday of September, will celebrate the figure of Marco Polo. During this night, university researchers share with the wider public their competencies, tools and knowledge, develop creativity, open up the spaces to the public and accompany the visits to the places of the city, the object of their research.
Many are the events connected to the famous Venetian traveller on the occasion of 700 years of his death: among them, at 4 pm, in the lobby of Ca' Foscari is scheduled "The colours of Marco Polo", a meeting which will bring the public of the Venetonight to the discover of plants, dyeing and printing techniques such as the hapa zome (Japanese technique of directly printing of plants on paper or fabric).
At 5 pm, from Campo San Geremia it will depart "The East in Venice. Itinerary on the footprint of Marco Polo and Giovanni Battista Ramusio", a path that promises to discover new places in which Asian presences or traces of the famous traveller are hidden. When one speaks of Venice and the Orient or of Marco Polo, one immediately thinks of the Rialto market or the Corte del Milione; but these are merely the best-known stops, certainly not the only ones: the itinerary, in fact, will wind its way from the Church of S. Maria della Misericordia to SS. Giovanni e Paolo, passing through the Fondamenta dei Mori, the House of the Camel and S. Maria dell'Orto, where, according to legend, Ramusio, the first inventor of the myth of Polo, is buried.
Other events will be dedicated to different languages of the East and to the writings of the ancient world: medieval Mongolian handwriting, writing laboratories of the Ancient Near East, from Mesopotamia to the Arabic Peninsula and talks on India and its multilingualism; with such a rich programme, both children and families will be able to take a linguistic trip on the Silk Road.
The world of science will pay its tribute to Marco Polo during the Researchers' Night as well: at 6.40 pm in Aula Baratto, it will begin the event "The Silk Road, a new vital journey after Marco Polo" while it is scheduled for the 8 pm at the Cortile Grande of Ca' Foscari, "The chemistry at the times of Marco Polo", the didactic event, playful and theatrical where some professional chemists play the role of alchemists to demonstrate that also the most difficult science can be funny whether seen from other points of view.
A total of 60 free activities are scheduled, 24 of which are dedicated to children and young people.
The activities of the 15th edition of Venetonight 2024 take place at various venues of Ca‘ Foscari University Venice: Ca’ Foscari (Dorsoduro 3246, 30123 Venice), Ca‘ Dolfin, San Giobbe, Ca’ Bernardo, BAUM. In addition, visits are planned in collaboration with many city institutions in and around the lagoon.