Venice is commemorating its most famous son, Marco Polo, with a major exhibition to mark the 700th anniversary of his death. The show, which opened in early April, features excavated finds, maps and books, and can be seen in the Doge’s Palace until September 29. It also includes loans from countries that the merchant from … Read more
Very early on in their history, the Chinese had mastered the technology of building bridges of considerable heft. Using wood, and then stone, they built bridges that spanned waterways and connected trunk roads. Cranes stand by as the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rests on the container ship MV Dali, on Saturday, March … Read more
Extracted from The Light of Asia: A History of Western Fascination with the East by Christopher Harding, published by Allen Lane, January 2024 *** “Honoured emperors and kings, dukes and marquesses, counts, knights and townspeople, and all who want to know about the various races of mankind and the peculiarities of the various regions of … Read more
