Museum directors and guests on stage Photo: Courtesy of the Italian Cultural Institute in Beijing

The first meeting with the directors of Italian museums was held at the Italian Cultural Institute in Beijing on Monday. The attending museums will lend artifacts for an exhibition on Marco Polo to be held in Beijing. 

The seminar was opened by the director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Beijing, Professor Federico Roberto Antonelli, who presented to the audience the series of activities scheduled to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's death. 

Professor Guicciardo Sassoli de' Bianchi Strozzi, the curator of the exhibition project, introduced the directors of the museums. Dr. Silvia Battistini, director of the Civic Museums of Ancient Art of Bologna, and Dr. Matteo Fochessati, director of La Wolfsoniana - Fondazione Palazzo Ducale, shared stories about some of the most historically and artistically significant works that will be displayed in the exhibition in Beijing, which aims to enhance the development of cultural dialogue between the East and the West over time.