Villa BardiniOltrarno
Viaggio in Oriente. Michael Yamashita
Retrospective of about 90 National Geographic photographs by Michael Yamashita, following Marco Polo and Zheng He across Asia.
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Preview: written before the show opened
A torii gate stands on a rise above the Sea of Japan coast at the Konpira Shrine, photographed in 2023. It is one of 90 pictures from Michael Yamashita's four decades of National Geographic work in Asia, many shown in Italy for the first time.
Most follow two old routes: Marco Polo's caravan roads from Venice to Beijing, traced through Il Milione, and the 15th-century voyages of the Chinese admiral Zheng He. China and Japan dominate, with Afghanistan's valleys and Southeast Asia alongside. Two pictures break the pattern on purpose: Venice, and New York, tied to Yamashita's own family. Polo set out from Venice, two hours from Santa Maria Novella by Frecciarossa; his onward leg took rather longer.
You finish with a ten-minute film from his New Jersey studio, where he talks about his methods and waiting for the right shot. Entry is €10, or €5 reduced.
Editor's pick
A torii gate above the Sea of Japan at the Konpira Shrine is one of 90 National Geographic photographs here, most tracing Marco Polo's road to Beijing or Zheng He's voyages. Polo started in Venice, two hours away by Frecciarossa.
Look for
The Konpira Shrine torii
Look for the shrine's gate perched above the Sea of Japan coast, photographed in 2023.
Toro Nagashi
The Obon lantern-floating ceremony of mid-August, when lanterns are set adrift to guide the spirits of ancestors.
The New York picture
One of two deliberate breaks from Asia, a view of New York tied to Yamashita's personal and family life.
Good for
- Going Solo
- Nerding Out
On now nearby
Nearby
Image credits
7
- Officina Bardini. Trame rivelateCourtesy of Museo Stefano Bardini
- At the Pitti Palace: The "Very Best" of the King's FurnitureCourtesy of Uffizi Gallery
- Villa Bardinisailko / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Museo Stefano BardiniFrancesco Bini / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Museo GalileoEbonaiuti / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Uffizi GalleryArek N. (Arkadiusz Nanowski), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Vasari CorridorFreepenguin, CC BY-SA 3.0