Setting his feet in China over 700 years ago, the famous Italian explorer Marco Polo described Dunhuang in his detailed chronicle as a major pivot on the ancient Silk Road, creating an unprecedented connection between this oriental city of commerce and Europe’s trade empire, Venice.
Centuries later, as the ancient Silk Road is being promoted and reinvigorated by the Chinese government as the “Belt and Road Initiative,” the dust-laden history of trading and cultural exchanges between Venice and Dunhuang is once again being unearthed by experts and scholars from China and Italy, who have launched the first ever exhibition of Buddhist Art from Dunhuang in Italy, which represents the privileged route that once favored the diplomatic, commercial and cultural relations of Eurasia.
The exhibition, Jewel of the Silk Road: Buddhist Art of Dunhuang, kicked off in Ca’ Foscari University of Venice on Feb.22 and will last until 8th April. It has attracted Italian scholars, politicians and the public to brush up on the past memory and friendship of the two nations.