Merci, moda e mercati nella Venezia di Marco Polo

This year marks an important anniversary: the disappearance, in January of the year 1324, of Marco Polo, a Venetian of great fame. His adventurous experiences, later narrated in an equally famous text, "Il Milione," captured the attention of his contemporaries and preserved his memory for centuries to come, reaching us today.

 

For the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's death, the Municipality of Venice has initiated official celebrations that will last for over a year, coordinating at the same time a schedule of initiatives promoted by public and private entities operating in the cultural sector. Within the official MarcoPolo700 program, the first series of meetings is also included, which the Ateneo Veneto wants to dedicate to the great traveler.

 

Through the mediation of some specialists who, through their studies, have had the opportunity to investigate and shed new light on that character and on Venice of the early Trecento, the series "In the sign of Marco Polo: Venice 1324-2024," curated by Alessandra Schiavon, aims to propose a renewed interpretation of the context in which the figure of Marco Polo was inserted, not only from a biographical and family point of view. The geographical and linguistic scope will be analyzed, as well as aspects related to the economy and daily life, and mercantile practices of a city/state that increasingly looks towards the world, including the Eastern Mediterranean basin, and that, through the encounter with different peoples and civilizations, will draw strength and wealth.

 

In that cosmopolitan Venice, the conditions matured for Nicolò, Matteo, and Marco Polo to face the great adventure of travels to the vast lands of the Great Khan; to that Venice, they will then return, delivering to the entire Europe invaluable treasures, extraordinary artifacts, and fabulous tales.

 

All meetings are free admission and without reservation.

 

 

 

Thursday, February 1 - 5:00 PM-6:30 PM

 

Luca Molà, University of Warwick

Trading and investing in Marco Polo's Venice

 

Paola Venturelli, University of Verona

"Dressed by the Great Khan... rich things of great value". Marco Polo and clothing