Events celebrate ancient explorer

TURIN, Italy — Italians and Chinese are coming together to remember Marco Polo, and his trailblazing journey along the ancient Silk Road, through a series of cultural events.

Since the beginning of this year, commemorative activities have been organized in several Italian cities to mark the 700th anniversary of the famous traveler's death.

An art exhibition themed Marco Polo: Art and Discovery opened on Friday at the MIIT Museum in the northern Italian city of Turin, to showcase art by 35 Chinese and Italian artists and art groups.

The exhibition, featuring painting, printmaking, sculpture, video and photography, will run until March 21.

Its curator Fei Xinyao says the art portrays the stories of China through Western artistic techniques, just as Marco Polo did back in his time, documenting ancient China through Italian eyes.

"Through the exhibition, we also hope to show the world the charm of contemporary Chinese art," Fei adds.

Guido Folco, director of the MIIT Museum, says cultural exchanges between the two countries are "mutually beneficial". The museum will organize similar exhibitions in the future, he says, as "the Italians are very interested in contemporary Chinese art".

Last month, a water and light show themed Unknown Lands: Marco Polo's Fantastic Journey was staged in northern Italy's famous lagoon city Venice.

Organized by the Municipality of Venice and the national committee for the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo, the show told the story of his 24-year journey to the East with fountains, lights, projections and the performances of actors.

As one of the main events of the 2024 Venice Carnival, the 30-minute show was held twice daily over 12 days, with an average audience of 1,500 people for each show, drawing a large number of local residents, as well as tourists.

The Venice Carnival, themed "To the East. The Extraordinary Journey of Marco Polo", ran from Jan 28 to Feb 13. On the last day of the annual event, a show of hanfu, the traditional attire of the Han ethnic group, was seen at the finale of the colorful parade. A group of 22 Italian and Chinese volunteers wearing hanfu participated in a parade in the Piazza San Marco in the city center.

The clothes, directly transported from the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou in Jiangsu province, were themed after the Han (206 BC-AD 220), Tang (618-907), and Song (960-1279) dynasties and displayed the traditional silk culture and the millennium-long evolution of traditional Chinese clothing.

Dubbed "the Venice of the East" by Marco Polo in the 13th century, Suzhou became a sister city of Venice in 1980. The hanfu show was also a tribute to Polo.

"Today, we celebrate a friendship that has lasted for 700 years," Venice City Councillor Paola Mar said at the event, adding that the hanfu display "strengthened the ties between our city and China".

Laura Fincato, a veteran Italian politician and honorary citizen of Suzhou, expressed hope that the two countries can sustain their mutual understanding and respect.