00:00There's nowhere quite like Venice
00:04Once one of the richest places on earth
00:07For centuries this floating city
00:08Was the preeminent center for east-west exchange
00:11Something which may explain why Venice's most iconic symbol
00:15Has distant and quite unexpected origins
00:18Well we think we discovered that the lion is Chinese
00:22In western Hunan province we'll explore a craft
00:25That's woven into the local fabric
00:27The bride behind me is wearing a special Miao wedding dress
00:30And in Miao culture mothers weave their blessings
00:32Into their daughters wedding dresses
00:34Every stitch is a cherished memory
00:36Each pattern a wish for the future
00:38Welcome to Crossing Cultures
00:41Join us as we explore the very best traditions
00:44Of both China and Europe
00:46Nothing really prepares you for the majesty of Venice
00:54From its stunning architecture and picturesque canals
00:57To the sheer audacity of those who built it
01:00But delve beneath the surface and there's a darker side
01:03It's a story of power, seduction and sin
01:07But also creativity
01:09One that goes to the very heart of the Venetian soul
01:13One place that vividly brings that story to life is Samarkana
01:17For over 40 years it has turned the centuries old craft
01:20Of Venetian mask making into a true art form
01:24Davide, what are you working on right now?
01:26Well I'm creating a new mask
01:28So I have a negative form
01:30I have this special kind of paper called wallpaper
01:34That I'm going to combine in a certain way
01:36To register all the details of the mould
01:40Creating then the new positive mask
01:43And is this the process that would have been used centuries ago?
01:47For sure, yes, people used to use the same technique
01:50So a negative form and a positive form
01:53Made with a mask inside it
01:55And how do you choose the designs?
01:57Are you guided by tradition or do you create new styles?
02:00Well it depends
02:02There are some masks that have certain iconographies
02:05But then there are many masks that are fantasy based
02:08Or they are inspired by books, by films and so on
02:12Beautifully hand painted, many masks are playful
02:15Others are slightly macabre and unsettling
02:18The result is a wonderful, albeit weird world
02:22But who wore them and why?
02:25Well at the time of the Republic of Venice
02:27In the past centuries everybody could wear a mask
02:30Nobles and commoners to hide their identity
02:33Then there are other masks for carnival
02:35That everybody could wear as well
02:37That could have been any kind of mask
02:40Now from this family of mask makers here in Venice
02:45Let's uncover another ancient craft in China
02:48Igor, over to you
02:50The Miao are one of China's oldest ethnic groups
03:03In the misty mountains of western Hunan
03:06They weave their stories in thread and collar
03:09And what do you think of them?
03:37ma la loro storia e la loro storia
03:39e la loro storia
03:41Iniziamo a usare la forma di usare
03:43per la prima volta di 5,000 anni
03:45per la prima volta di usare
03:47importanti situazioni
03:49Per esempio, in molti
03:51degli occhi, vediamo
03:53due volte di usare
03:55due volte di usare
03:57per la prima volta di usare
03:59la prima volta di usare
04:01la prima volta di usare
04:03ma ora di usare
04:05In the Miao tradition, a wedding dress may take three generations to complete.
04:33A single thread runs through time, binding together the hearts of grandmother, mother and daughter.
04:41Their hands move at different moments in life, yet their stitches meet on the same piece of cloth.
05:03The red is actually the color of festivity in China.
05:29So back in the day, the wedding dress was actually not white.
05:33It was red, because red was always like shining with happiness.
05:37Generations ago, the Miao people carried their embroidery into the mountains, preserving color and memory through time.
05:50Now, through Yihua's hands, these threads of tradition journey outward again, sharing their story with the world.
06:02The tales of Venetian explorer Marco Polo, written some 700 years ago, are the first European account of the Orient.
06:09But to what extent were Venice's links already forged with the Far East and China before his journey there?
06:16The tales of Venetian explorer Marco Polo, written some 700 years ago, are the first European account of the Orient.
06:33But to what extent were Venice's links already forged with the Far East and China before his journey there?
06:39Could the city's symbol tell us more?
06:42Gilberto, what have you discovered?
06:44We think we discovered that the lion is Chinese.
06:47The original copper that was used for casting is from China.
06:52And what does this discovery mean for our understanding of Venetian history and Venice's connections with the wider world?
07:00Well, the lion was up there when Marco Polo left.
07:03He saw it up there.
07:04As a matter of fact, we think that, you know, given the aesthetics and the shape of the casting, it's probably of time period.
07:13So it goes back to at least 400 years or 300 years before Marco Polo left.
07:19Do we have any idea how it got here?
07:22No, but we know that the Silk Roads, not only the road ones, but also the maritime one, were open way before.
07:31So there were clearly exchanges to Southeast Asia and China.
07:36So, made in China, but a very long time ago.
07:40Absolutely.
07:45From the wonders of Venice to the beauty of Hunan province, what a fantastic journey it's been through centuries of art and craft.
07:51Until the next time, thanks for watching.
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