The text describes a water show directed by Massimo Checchetto and produced by Enrica Crivellaro. The show features imaginary and fantastical animals carried by boats, including a dragon moving slowly through the waters. Actors Blu Silla and Gaetano Ruocco Guadagno, along with the narration by Venetian writer Alberto Toso Fei, bring to life the adventures of Marco Polo, navigating encounters with tigers and Chinese dancers performing ancestral dances.
The backdrop features projections of the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Basilica, symbolizing the connection between Venice and the East. The performance also includes a dance of the four symbols performed by five dancers from The East Dance Company, leading the audience into the mysteries of ancient Chinese legends. It highlights the survival of traditional practices in Suzhou, twinned with Venice since 1980, despite industrialization.
The show reflects the relevance of Marco Polo’s travels in the modern context of 5G technology and global trade. The President of the Civic Museums Foundation of Venice, Mariacristina Gribaudi, emphasizes the contemporary significance of recounting Marco Polo’s story, connecting different societies, cultures, and trade routes to the East. Future events include an exhibition at Ca’ Foscari University showcasing relics from Uzbekistan’s museums, as well as a display of costumes and sketches used in the TV series “Marco Polo,” directed by Giuliano Montaldo in 1982.
The text also mentions an upcoming event titled “The Paths of Writing,” featuring calligraphy as an art form in the Sala delle Quattro Porte of the Correr Museum. It concludes by mentioning the imminent arrival of carnival in Venice, but emphasizing that it will not overshadow the city’s most illustrious citizen, Marco Polo, who is compared to a medieval influencer.