The celebrations for the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo, which occurred in 1324, have finally begun. On the agenda, a rich calendar filled with important initiatives, organised by the City of Venice, in collaboration not only with Ca' Foscari University of Venice and Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia (MUVE), but also with many national and international associations. It will be a long-awaited opportunity to celebrate the famous Venetian merchant, widely recognised for having written "the first reliable and complete account of the East and the first contribution to mutual knowledge between Asia and Europe".
In support of the celebrations, a National Committee was established on December 29, 2023, with a decree of the Ministry of Culture signed by the Italian minister Gennaro Sangiuliano. Such committee sees the Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, as the proposer, and Ca' Foscari University rector Tiziana Lippiello as the president of the Scientific Committee and Coordinator of the projects.
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.
“Marco Polo is renowned for discovering the Far East. His deeds as a great traveller were able to create a bond with many cultures and peoples that were distant from us - explains the Mayor of Venice and president of the National Committee Luigi Brugnaro - The rediscovery of his figure evokes highly topical issues: how to dialogue with other cultures without giving up one's own identity? How to regulate relations between people and cities? How to transmit know-how and industriousness? The lands and seas he visited on his more than twenty years journey are often now critical areas from a diplomatic point of view. Thanks to the memory of Marco Polo, Venice wants to once again send a message of hope, peace and brotherhood. This is why we are open to receiving new proposals".
The Veneto Region Councilor for Culture, Cristiano Corazzari, also spoke at the press conference, ensuring the support and collaboration of the Institution, as the project related to Marco Polo recalls the history of Venice and its characteristic of being a cosmopolitan city, a meeting place where one can build relationships.
Fondazione Musei Civici takes part in the celebrations for Marco Polo with exhibitions, masterclasses, and conferences, as well as with events specifically designed for a younger audience and schools.
The main event is set to be the great exhibition hosted at Palazzo Ducale from April 6th to September 29th, 2024, titled "The Worlds of Marco Polo. The Journey of a Thirteen-Century Venetian Merchant". It will be a journey within a journey, through the rooms of the Doge's Quarters, with over 300 works coming from not only Venetian collections, but also from the largest and most important Italian and European institutions, up to loans from the museums of Armenia, China, Qatar and Canada. Works of art, manufactured goods and literary works of the Venetian merchant will retrace the physical, political and human geography of his encounters in Asia, the main theme of his volume "Il Milione", with an in-depth analysis dedicated precisely to the global success of his work literature between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, up to the allure this historic figure and his adventure hold with contemporary art.
Therefore, a compelling exhibition that reiterates the importance of cultural inclusiveness, openness, and curiosity while travelling, towards knowledge and what is other than us.
Chronologically speaking, the program of events planned by Fondazione Musei Civici will kick off with the exhibition "The Axis of Time: Suzhou Silk Clothing Fabrics" at the Museum of Palazzo Mocenigo, in Venice. From January 11th, original creations, fabrics and replicas of ancient clothes will tell the story of the thousand-year-old technique that made the silk of the Jiangnan region famous, admired and mentioned by Polo. Then, from April 29th to September 30th, Palazzo Mocenigo will also display a selection of period costumes and sketches used while filming the unforgettable 1982 TV show on Marco Polo, which saw the presence of different international cast members, China being one of them.
Later this autumn MUVE's traditional event on calligraphic art will be brought back with masterclasses and a dedicated exhibition in the Sala delle Quattro Porte of the Correr Museum “Journey through writings: the calligraphic cultures encountered by Marco Polo.
With the evocative title “Ad Oriente. The Amazing Journey of Marco Polo", from January 27th to February 13th the 2024 Venice Carnival will also celebrate one of its greatest travellers, bringing the theme of travel and discovery of new lands into the Venetian calli and campi of the city.
Many are the events dedicated to the figure of Marco Polo planned for January: on the 11th Ca' Foscari University will host the conference "Italy-China Cultural Relations during the Year of Marco Polo Celebrations", which will see the intervention of H.E. Massimo Ambrosetti, Italian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China. Among the events, a two-day conference entitled “Marco Polo's Venice. The Poliano Diplomatic Code (1288-1380)", scheduled for the 25th and 26th, and organized by Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti.
“Telling the story of Marco Polo gives us the chance to better understand the relations between different societies and cultures, as well as how the routes towards the East have not lost their importance and relevance - says Mariacristina Gribaudi, president of MUVE - For our Museums it is a precious opportunity to tell his story through various initiatives, placing our extraordinary civic collections in dialogue with excellent loans from the major European and Asian institutions, as in the great exhibition scheduled at Palazzo Ducale: an exceptional example of how an exhibition and the celebrations of a centenary are essential for discussion and cultural diplomacy. All this is possible because of the efforts of the National Committee led by the Mayor and the City of Venice which, with this initiative, renews the commitment and investment in culture as the first and main vehicle for dialogue. Even if today every part of the world is easily reachable, the encounter with what is different from us can and must still arouse amazement and wonder, as it was for Marco Polo. Remembering his journey in the exhibitions and with the initiatives proposed by MUVE is an invitation to discovery, knowledge and understanding".
Ca' Foscari University has also planned a plethora of events, in an intense scientific and cultural programme. The 2024 Ca' Foscari Short Film Festival, Incroci di Civiltà International Literature Festival in Venice, Teatro Ca' Foscari, an International Conference on philological and historical-cultural studies on Marco Polo: these are just a few examples of the varied calendar set up by the Venetian university.
Furthermore, from an idea of Fondazione Venezia 2002, the exhibition "The Clothes of Marco Polo and the Traditional Silk Clothes of Suzhou. An Exhibition of Traditional and Historical Clothes of the Two Cities of Marco Polo: Suzhou and Venice" will be taking place during the year, an opportunity for comparison and dialogue to happen between two geographically distant cultures, but united by the wise and precious art of textile production.
"These celebrations are also an opportunity to rediscover the historical figure of Marco Polo beyond all those legendary aspects for which he is usually known for. He was a great "ambassador" of Italy and the Republic of Venice, and he played a significant role in Asia, where to this day he is well known, maybe even more than in our country. Therefore, this year we will have the opportunity to tell his story, and the significance the extraordinary experiences he had hold for us. I hope these celebrations will also be an opportunity to strengthen cultural relations between these two parts of the world - explains Tiziana Lippiello, rector of Ca' Foscari University - Numerous Venetian, Italian and international institutions are taking part in the Marco Polo celebrations with great enthusiasm. For this reason, I would like to thank the Ministry of Culture, which strongly supported the project. I am also proud of Ca' Foscari's role in this project: the exceptional combination of historical, philological and linguistic expertise on the countries visited by Marco Polo, paired with the relevant tradition of academic studies on this figure, make our University unique on an international level".
"As a Venetian, it was an honour for me to become an honorary citizen of the city of Suzhou in 2012, which Marco Polo describes in "Il Milione" as "Sugiu, a very noble and great city... they have silk in huge quantities, making many fabrics... they are expert merchants, men of subtle understanding...and there are 6000 stone bridges" - explains Laura Fincato, former undersecretary for Foreign Affairs - We open the celebrations of the 700th anniversary of the death of the Venetian Marco Polo with an exhibition at the Museum in Palazzo Mocenigo dedicated to clothes and silk fabrics that come from Suzhou, as a sign of friendship. "The Axis of Time", the title of this exhibition, indicates that over time the relationships between these cities have been maintained and developed. I thank Mayor Luigi Brugnaro for the opportunity to contribute to the development of relations between the two cities, relations based on respect, mutual understanding and friendship which, in the name of Marco Polo, will find fulfilment".
Public readings, itineraries in the city and a series of conferences for citizens: such activities planned on a local level have the aim of mediating the complex knowledge of the figure of a man from the Middle Ages and the consequences of his journey on the cognitive apparatus of Western man. Theatrical and multimedia initiatives will be activated and carried out with workshops on the reception of the Poliano myth in twentieth-century media: opera, comics, film and television reductions and themed creative workshops for students of primary and secondary schools in Venice, in collaboration with the Regional School Office of Veneto. For the international public, initiatives are planned in collaboration with Rai for the broadcast of historical dramas about Marco Polo.
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.
