Tribute of Venice to Marco Polo

• LOCATION: Venice,Italy

• Tweet

On the occasion of the seventh centenary of the death of Marco Polo in 1324, the City of Venice has launched a rich calendar of events in collaboration with the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Ca' Foscari University of Venice and many other local, national and international associations. These initiatives aim to celebrate the memory of this illustrious Venetian, recognized for having written the first complete and reliable account of the East, thus contributing to the mutual knowledge between Asia and Europe. Support for the celebrations was sanctioned on 29 December with a decree of the Ministry of Culture, signed by Gennaro Sangiuliano at the request of the City and the Venetian University. The National Committee for the celebrations, chaired by the Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro and coordinated by the Dean Tiziana Lippiello, was established to oversee these activities.

The celebrations, together with the Committee, will last for three years, with further initiatives planned in 2025 and 2026. Marco Polo is famous for exploring the lands of the far East, and his epic history as a traveller has created a deep bond with distant cultures and peoples, both by sea and by land. " The rediscovery of the figure of Marco Polo raises questions of great relevance", explains the mayor of Venice and president of the Promoting Committee, Luigi Brugnaro. "How can we dialogue with other cultures while preserving our identity? How can we manage relations between peoples and cities? How can we pass on art and work capacity?" The regions and seas explored by Marco Polo during his twenty years of travel are often today at the center of diplomatic tensions. Thanks to the memory of Marco Polo, Venice intends to launch a message of hope, peace and brotherhood, remaining open to new proposals to pursue this goal.

There are also many initiatives in the Ca' Foscari calendar, which turn into a moment of deep reflection on the life and contribution of Marco Polo, through a compelling scientific and cultural program. Activities at the local level, which include public readings in symbolic places of the city, cultural routes and cycle conferences open to citizens, aim to facilitate the understanding of the complex figure of this man of the Middle Ages and the implications of his journey on the development of Western thought. Theatrical and multimedia projects will also be activated and realized, with workshops focused on the reception of the myth of Marco Polo in the media of the twentieth century: operas, comics, film and television adaptations, as well as creative workshops dedicated to 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 transmission of historical plays on Marco Polo, in order to spread the knowledge of this fascinating figure globally.