Commercial routes are roads through which not only goods and materials travel, but also ideas, techniques and knowledge. The journey is a part of the imagination just as the imagination is a part of the journey: where the physical presence does not arrive, reflection, fantasy, and study make the cut; vice versa, the travel experience allows us to investigate, experiment, verify myths and beliefs, promoting the cultural advancement of people.
This naturally also happened for those Europeans who, along the Silk Road, contributed to increasing knowledge of places, narrating it, and promoting exchanges and contacts. From the 13th century until well into the 19th century, due to its geographical position, political system and social and economic fabric, Venice played a key role in the promotion of contacts, in the organization of itineraries, in the system of import and export of goods valuable and exotic and knowledge.
Thanks to the generous participation of the scholars involved, the series of conferences organized by the Museum of Oriental Art in Venice investigates the itineraries, routes, and exchanges, telling a vision of the world and analysing its narrative starting from the travellers of the 13th century. After the fall of the Serenissima Republic, in the 19th century, contacts with East Asia continued to be a harbinger of innovation and growth for all the countries involved, with particular attention to the textile sector.
For more information visit the official website of the Museum of Oriental Art.