Venice opens big Marco Polo show to mark 700 years since the death of merchant who travelled to China
- The Worlds of Marco Polo exhibition, in the Doge’s Palace, in Venice, celebrates the life of the explorer and merchant, who travelled to Asia in 1271, aged 17
- Maps, books and manuscripts are among 300 artefacts which help tell his story. Perhaps surprisingly, there is still no monument to the explorer in the city
Venice is commemorating its most famous son, Marco Polo, with a major exhibition to mark the 700th anniversary of his death.
The show, which opened in early April, features excavated finds, maps and books, and can be seen in the Doge’s Palace until September 29. It also includes loans from countries that the merchant from the lagoon city visited, from Armenia to Mongolia and China.
The exhibition – “The Worlds of Marco Polo” – is one of the highlights of a year of Marco Polo events in Venice. This year’s annual carnival (which ran from January 27 to February 13) was also organised under the motto of “The Amazing Journey of Marco Polo”.
The city, which now has fewer than 50,000 permanent residents, is trying to attract even more visitors, even as Venice grapples with the problem of mass tourism.
The most famous Venetian is believed to have been born into a family of merchants in 1254. His father and uncle were already doing business in the Far East.
Together with them, Marco Polo set off on a journey in 1271 – when he was only 17 years old – that took him as far as Asia. He didn’t return home for almost a quarter of a century.
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He then reported on his adventures in a widely read book, which was eventually given the title Il Milione. He died in Venice at the age of almost 70 as a highly respected merchant.
More than 300 artefacts are on display in the Doge’s Palace. These include the handwritten will and early editions of his adventures.
One drawing of a young merchant is described thus: “This is the noble knight Marcho Polo of Venice, the greatest land traveller, who describes the great wonders of the world to us”.
However the picture is fiction: nobody knows what Marco Polo actually looked like; there is no credible portrait from his lifetime.
In Italy, many people still associate his appearance with his supposed likeness on the 1,000 lire note (which was demonetised in 1995): an older, stern-looking man with long white hair and a full beard.
In a 1938 Hollywood film, to which the exhibition refers, he was portrayed by a clean-shaven Gary Cooper. A bust of Marco Polo from the 19th century with a bald head can also be seen in the Doge’s Palace.
To mark the 700th anniversary of the traveller’s death, museums all over the world provided exhibits from countries Marco Polo travelled through: Chinese art from various dynasties but also finds from Armenia, Mongolia and Iran.
In addition, the house in which Marco Polo lived after his return to Venice is reconstructed on screens with the help of software. A plaque now hangs on the new building that stands on the spot today, very close to the Rialto Bridge.
There is still no monument to Marco Polo in the lagoon city. This exhibition is the next best thing.
