Laura Fincato: Marco Polo is helping us to create a better life

This year is the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo and to mark this important event, there are many celebrations all over Italy. Laura Fincato, a member of the National Committee for the Celebration of Marco Polo and the former deputy mayor of Venice, shared with People's Daily Online various cultural events organized in Venice. Fincato considers Marco Polo to be one of the most famous travellers in the world, an extraordinary man of his time, and an important example that encourages Italy and China to foster cross-cultural dialogue and exchange.

Laura Fincato (Photo/Patrick Shead-Simmonds)

Fincato believes that Marco Polo demonstrated how we can respect different cultures and understand each other across differences. "Marco Polo was a young man when his family decided to go to China and he stayed in China as a civil servant of the Khan, as a merchant, and as a diplomat. The most important thing is that when he came back, he wrote down his experience and allowed us to learn about his extraordinary journey. We today need to understand and appreciate how Marco Polo fostered good relations between China and Venice back then."

Fincato shared that in order to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo, many activities have been organized in Italy and China. From exhibitions in Venice to events in Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Yangzhou, where Marco Polo had been during his travels in China. Fincato remarked, "Marco Polo is helping us to create a better time and improving mutual relations between the East and the West."

Fincato shared one of the highlights of the celebration, which is the exhibition called "The Worlds of Marco Polo" at the Doge's Palace. She explained that "worlds" here refer to how Marco Polo through his writing has allowed people to understand not just one place, but human culture as a whole. The exhibition is divided into several sections, beginning with an enormous piece that records the places Marco Polo visited during the medieval period. Fincato said, "You can see different artifacts from China and all over the world. Many of the exhibits were loaned from museums overseas, for example, in the China section most exhibits were loaned from the Shanghai Museum. This therefore strengthened the cultural relationship between China and Italy."

Fincato explained that to celebrate Marco Polo and his stories there are many other collaborations between China and Italy. For example, on the day of the interview, there was a dragon boat challenge between Venice and Suzhou called the Marco Polo Cup. One team is from Suzhou, the sister city of Venice, and the other is made up of students from the University of Venice. Fincato said, "The Venetian rowing tradition is standing upright, so rowing on the dragon boat will be a different experience. The cup is a celebration of both Chinese and Venetian cultures."

Fincato expressed that "the only way to foster a better future is through active dialogue and cultural exchange. It is difficult to make bridges, but bridges have to be built up by each of us. The bridge of culture first requires us to understand and respect each other. Then we can make other bridges." She went on to say that "culture is our hope. Venice and Suzhou are good examples of cultural exchange." She looks forward to more collaborations between Italy and China in the future.