Explorer, ambassador, merchant. Marco Polo was born in Venice on September 24, 1254, a figure that, for his extraordinary feats, is indeed one of the best-known figures in the history of the Serenissima. To him, the City of Venice has decided to dedicate a rich calendar filled with important initiatives, 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.
"Marco Polo is the story of a great traveller, a story that by sea and by land linked the peoples and cultures of the East with the West - recalls the Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro - His figure is as relevant as ever. How can we encourage young people to make courageous choices? How can we strengthen ties with territories that are very critical from a geopolitical point of view? How can we transmit industriousness and know-how in trade? What can be a positive relationship in the encounter between different civilisations? In memory of Marco Polo, in a participatory manner, Venice creates opportunities for peace, hope and brotherhood, in mutual respect".
In support of the celebrations, a National Committee was established on December 29, 2023, with a decree of the Ministry of Culture. 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 were the initiatives of a scientific, literary and cultural nature that followed one another in these first nine months of activity, with many others already scheduled.
Up until now, 124 are the projects approved by the National Committee for the celebrations of the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's death. They took place not only in Venice but also in many other Italian cities and all around the world: among them Conegliano (TV), Treviso, Rovigo, Verona, Cortina (BL), Jesolo (VE), Padova, Udine, Pisa, Ancona, Costacciaro (PG), Mantova, Tolentino (MC), Roma, Altamura (BA), Spello (PG), Gallipoli (LE), Genova, Mendoza (Argentina), Shanghai (Cina), Monaco di Baviera and Lione (Francia). There is also close collaboration with Suzhou (Cina), a city bond by a twinning protocol already signed on March 24, 1980, that aims to deepen the friendship bond between the populations of the cities of the two countries.
Of these events, 42 are conferences and meetings dedicated to the Serenissima, to the journey towards the East, seminars and laboratories, while 4 are sporting events that already happened or are scheduled: the "Su e Zo per i ponti 2024", the “Marco Polo a pedali” expedition which arrived to Beijing, the meeting about martial arts with the shaoling teachers of the Accademia della Tigre Bianca of Mirano, and the Venice Marathon, which will begin on Sunday October 27, 2024.
Furthermore, many big events of the Venetian calendar have celebrated the famous explorer: with the appealing title “Ad Oriente. The Extraordinary Journey of Marco Polo”, from January 27 until February 13 the 2024 Venetian Carnival has brought to the streets and squares the adventures of a young Marco Polo. Then, the Festa della Sensa, the Redentore, which has enlightened the sky above St. Mark's Basin with the sign “Marco Polo 700”, and the Regata Storica, which saw the performance of the rowing race "Marco Polo Cup".
Two are the international exhibitions which recall the great feats of the explorer: the Venice Boat Show, which took place from May 29 until June 2, and Salone dell'Alto Artigianato Italiano, scheduled for the next 3 until 6 of October 2024 at the Arsenale di Venezia. Moreover, 32 are the exhibitions which have fascinated the audience. Oriental texture, jewels, ancient documents and maps but also handwriting, contemporary art and stage costumes have proposed new ways of seeing the life of Marco Polo, on the topic of the journey and the exploration of distant lands.
The most important event is 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". On July 26, 2024, the exhibition "Viaggio di Conoscenze: “Il Milione” di Marco Polo e la sua eredità fra Oriente e Occidente" kicked off at the China World Art Museum of Beijing: this is the main Chinese event dedicated to the celebration of the 700th anniversary of the death of the famous explorer and Venetian merchant, promoted by the Italian Embassy in Beijing.
Furthermore, a total of 12 multimedia productions, among documentaries, webinars, radio and podcasts, contribute to enriching and deepening the dialogue on the figure of Marco Polo, while renowned publishing houses such as Edizioni Treccani, Ca’ Foscari, Marsilio, and Carocci Editore have dedicated to the famous Venetian merchant new editions of the "Milione", anastatic reprintings, volumes and travel journals: 12 are the publications active so far. At an international level, it is of relevance the seminar.
Important is at the international level the series of seminars "Marco Polo, his book and Asia. Research perspectives twenty years later", organized by Ca' Foscari University, which from September 11 to 14 has brought to Venice scholars coming from the most important universities in the world, showing new documents and presenting a new version of the Milione in digital format.
It is of a few days ago the finding of a document of the "Milione", the 145th, already present in the catalogue of the Biblioteca Jacobilli of Foligno, but unknown to Polo's studies and experts.
The world of entertainment, music and theatre has decided to pay tribute to Marco Polo, organising 19 productions, among them “Ennio Morricone - Marco Polo Soundtrack”, the concert which went on stage on June 29, 2024, at the Teatro Malibran, the theatrical review for children “Sottocasa 2024. In viaggio con Marco Polo”, by Fondazione Teatro Stabile del Veneto, the Barch-In Cinema, at the Arsenale di Venezia on the 7-11-12-13-14 of July 2024, and the Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival.
On the website www.leviedimarcopolo.it it is possible to discover all the ongoing initiatives dedicated to Marco Polo 700, thanks to the always-updated calendar and the “News” section, which contains articles and curiosities: until now, 100 pieces have been published in Italian, 36 in English, 21 in Chinese and 14 in Japanese.
Marco Polo’s story has even managed to transcend geographical boundaries and centuries, reaching us today and becoming social.
As a matter of fact, on the channels of Venezia Serenissima, the official profile where one can follow the events celebrating the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's death, it is possible to discover the initiatives and projects achieved so far. With the official hashtag #MarcoPolo700, in these first nine months of celebrations, the published posts have been more than 400. From the promotion of events organized all over the world to the creation of dedicated columns for the great traveller, in this period, the official channels have reached a total of more than 3 million users.
In particular, during these weeks the column titled #LeViediMarcoPolo is published every Thursday: it consists of a series of reels featuring the life and adventures of the famous Venetian traveller, who continues to write the pages of an imaginary, never-ending tale. Specifically, a team of professors and researchers from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, led by Professor Eugenio Burgio, was involved in the creation of short videos in various areas of Venice's historic centre.
Here, different themes related not only to Marco Polo and his family but also to the historical and cultural context of his travels and the traveller’s movements will be addressed. Topics will include his predecessors, the places explored by the Polos, the customs and traditions of the Mongol people who hosted Marco, his father, and his uncle for years, the geographical knowledge of the time, and much more.
Marco Polo's celebrations will also continue through 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.