From April 6th to September 29th, 2024
On April 6th, 2024 the exhibit
MARCO POLO’S WORLDS has been opened to the public in the rooms that used to host the
Doges’ apartment in the Doges’ Palace in Venice. This is one of the several events that have been organized for the
700th anniversary of Marco Polo’s death.Every room displays a precise theme: one is dedicated to
cartography, another to the different ancient editions and
translations of “Il Milione”, Marco Polo’s book of memories and travels. Then we find the two
Armenias, with objects and fabrics from the
10th to the 13th century.
Islam is present with
fabrics and brocades that mention the Pax Mongolica. Then we reach the rooms dedicated to
China under the Yuan Dynasty. Here the objects displayed are of extraordinary abundance:
clothes, stamps, a banknote plate, little funerary figures, fabrics…The next section relates to
India and its religions, in particular
Buddhism, but mentioning also Shamanism, Confucianism, Daoism, Nestorianism…A journey so far away in time, through
crossroads of different civilizations with all those peculiar characteristics that are mentioned in Marco Polo’s work: from cuisine to art, from religions to commerce and goods of different regions, up to the traditions and customs of all the people he met in different places during his travels.
Which is the
fil rouge of the entire exhibit? It is
Marco’s insatiable curiosity, the urgent desire of getting acquainted with all that is different and unusual.
We’ll be waiting for you in Venice! Ciao!