Marco Polo's Spirit

If you are in the Italian Veneto region and you visit the Dolomites, why don't you stop at the beautiful village of Cibiana di Cadore where colourful murals have been painted on the house facades by artists from all over the world? It's summer in Cibiana di Cadore nestled in the Italian Dolomites near Belluno.   A late afternoon sun warms the village streets at 1,025 metres above sea level and illuminates the houses, the dark roofs and the wooden balconies.  The village is dressed in magic: geraniums displayed everywhere, a cat dozing on a chair, a gentleman chatting, a woman just standing on the door entrance. An atmosphere of familiarity that smells like the scent of mountain resins, fresh milk and welcoming smiles.  After spending a wonderful day hiking on Monte Rite and visiting the Messner Mountain Museum Dolomites Museum , we want to know more about the art and history of this tiny mountain village, Cibiana di Cadore. Cibiana di Cadore DON'T MISS ALSO: THE DOLOMITES (

FROM VENICE'S GALLERIA DELL'ACCADEMIA TO THE DOLOMITES You might wonder what the Dolomites have to do with the art museum Galleria dell'Accademia in Venice. If you are in Venice and visit the Gallerie dell'Accademia, you will find a huge painting by the famous Titian. It is called "the Presentation of Virgin at the Temple" and is a painting dating 1534-1538.  It was commissioned by the Scuola della Carità, a charity organisation headquartered in the Church of S. Maria della Carità, where the art museum is located today. The charity commissioned Titian this painting because the topic was very popular in Renaissance Venice: it shows the Christian story of Joachim and Anne, Mary's parents.   Titian painted Joachim and Anne entrusting Mary to the temple after their unexpected parenthood. Mary is climbing the temple stairs slowly in a glowing light; in the background a dramatic mountain scenary: the Dolomites. THE DOLOMITES AND TITIAN According to the art exper