This article offers an overview of the readings of Marco Polo’s ventures offered to the Italian public opinion during the Fascist era. Marco Polo’s image was adapted to the needs of patriotic pedagogy, propaganda of Fascist values and colonial aspirations, and the attempt to redefine Rome’s political, economic and cultural role in the world. In a complex mix of academic and popular readings, the official discourse transformed the Venetian traveller into a symbol of Italianness in China in order to legitimize Fascist Italy’s ambitions and expectations and stress its distinct identity in comparison with the other western powers. Although Chinese reception of this discourse was limited by several factors at that time, this process certainly helped establish Marco Polo’s iconic significance in Sino-Italian cultural diplomacy well into the twentieth century.
Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-6702-3093
Chapter Title
An Italian Hero for China. Reading Marco Polo in the Fascist Era
Authors
Laura De Giorgi
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-579-0.10
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Rereading Travellers to the East
Book Subtitle
Shaping Identities and Building the Nation in Post-unification Italy
Editors
Beatrice Falcucci, Emanuele Giusti, Davide Trentacoste
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
232
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-579-0
ISBN Print
978-88-5518-578-3
eISBN (pdf)
978-88-5518-579-0
eISBN (epub)
978-88-5518-580-6
Series Title
Connessioni. Studies in Transcultural History
Series ISSN
2975-0393
Series E-ISSN
2975-0261