2022年4月，意大利旅行家维娜·卡玛洛塔从马可·波罗的故乡威尼斯出发，追随着这位伟大探险家的步伐，开启了总里程2.2万公里的旅途。

两年后，她终于踏上了中国的土地。

在两年多的旅途中，仅靠一个背包和两根徒步杆，她走过了包括克罗地亚、土耳其、吉尔吉斯斯坦等在内的10余个国家。

2024年8月29日，她从新疆伊尔克什坦口岸入境，立刻受到了当地人民的热烈欢迎。

Beginning in Venice on April 26, 2022, Italian hiker Vienna Cammarota arrived in China last month, the last stop of her journey to the East, trekking more than 20,000 kilometers.

With a simple backpack and two trekking poles, Cammarota has covered a distance from Italy across Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkiye, Georgia, Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan.

维娜·卡玛洛塔1949年出生，是一位充满冒险精神和文化使命感的徒步旅行家。她从2000年开始研读《马可·波罗游记》，便燃起了重走丝绸之路致敬马可·波罗的热情。

维娜说：“马可·波罗在中国生活了17年，他在游记中详细描述了这个国家，让西方人第一次了解到这个东方国家的魅力。”她说，希望追随马可·波罗的脚步，看到更多现代化的中国。

Inspired by Marco Polo, who traveled to China along the ancient Silk Road in 1275, Cammarota set off from the legendary explorer's hometown of Venice to retrace the route on foot.

Marco Polo lived in China for 17 years and in his travelogue provided detailed descriptions of the country, which allowed Westerners to learn about the allure of this Eastern nation for the first time, Cammarota says. She adds that she hopes to see more of modern China by following in Marco Polo's footsteps.

喀什是维娜游历中国的第一站。漫步在喀什古城景区的街巷里，维娜被当地的民俗风情、丰富的文化艺术和独特的建筑风格深深吸引。

她花了几天时间体验当地文化，在一个有百年历史的茶馆，她与当地居民一起学习茶文化，还去了一家烤馕店学习制作这种当地的传统主食。

She first spent a few days making inroads into the ancient city of Kashgar in the autonomous region, experiencing the local folk customs and history, ranging from a century-old teahouse where she engaged with residents to learn about tea culture to a naan bread shop where she tried her hand at making the traditional staple food.

维娜·卡玛洛塔在新疆维吾尔自治区体验当地铜器制作工艺

旅途中，维娜习惯把自己的见闻和《马可·波罗游记》中记载的细节进行对照。维娜提到，书中记载了在喀什附近，有大片的棉田。当她行走在去往阿克苏的路上，正值秋收时节，大片大片的棉田一望无际，让她欣喜不已。

“很多人把马可·波罗称为‘百万先生’，因为他游记中所描述的富饶的东方世界，金银财宝、丝绸和田地都是以百万计，当年很多人觉得不可思议。我来到中国后，认为他并未夸大。”她说。

维娜·卡玛洛塔在新疆喀什的茶馆品尝酸奶

在旅途中，维娜亲眼见证了“古丝绸之路”在新时代的辉煌重生。作为一个徒步旅行者，维娜特别关注公路和桥梁建设，其中，克罗地亚的佩列沙茨大桥给她留下了深刻的印象。

As a hiker, Cammarota has paid special attention to road and bridge constructions, among which she was impressed by the Peljesac Bridge in Croatia, a project built by a consortium led by the China Road and Bridge Corporation.

这些由中国企业参与建设的项目，不仅促进了当地的经济发展，更成为了中外友谊与合作的见证。

当地居民为维娜·卡玛洛塔举行欢迎仪式

她说：“当看到这些奇迹时，我感到激动万分。只有亲眼目睹，才能真正领会它们有多么不可思议。”

"When I see these marvels, I feel my heart swell with emotion. It's only by witnessing them firsthand that you can truly grasp their incredible nature," she says.

当她目睹欧洲和中亚人民从“一带一路”倡议中获益时，人们脸上满足的表情给她留下了十分深刻的印象。

It's the satisfied look on the faces of people she's met that impressed her most, as she has witnessed people from European and Central Asian countries benefiting from the Belt and Road Initiative, she says.

两年多来，维娜选择将自己游历的经历全程分享在社交媒体。来自世界各地的网友围观她的故事，并用点赞或者评论的方式陪她一起完成这次旅程。

维娜一直想做一件事——把她看到的真实中国，通过海外社交媒体分享到遥远的欧洲，“我发现，包括意大利在内的一些欧洲国家在官方媒体上报道的中国，和我实际看到的是截然不同的。所以，我觉得自己有责任介绍一个真实的中国，让更多人更全面地了解这个国家的历史与文化。”

She began studying The Travels of Marco Polo in 2000 and planned to retrace Marco Polo's route along the Silk Road. Her goal is to experience the profound cultural heritage of Chinese civilization, witness the development and achievements of modern China, and call for global harmony and inclusiveness by bringing into modern view the Silk Road history and spirit to boost dialogue and understanding between the East and the West.

年逾七旬，维娜如何完成如此长时间和高频率的旅程？

维娜对自己的身体健康很自信。退休前，维娜一直从事“自然环境导游”工作，主要负责带领游客徒步探险。“我没戴过一天老花镜，眼神特别好。”维娜说，正是因为坚持徒步，她才能保持健康的身体状态。

一般情况下，维娜保持着一天15到20公里的频率。她笑言，这样的强度，往往“一鼓作气”就能走完。当然，途中可能会简单地喝点水、吃点坚果，一般在日落时分，便可结束一天的行程。

这次来到中国，维娜背着一个20多公斤重的背包，这个背包已经陪伴她从欧洲到亚洲。对于徒步的装备，维娜的原则是能省则省，只保留一些可以御寒保暖的衣物、太阳能充电装置和指南针。

接下来，维娜将继续沿着马可·波罗的足迹，穿越中国新疆、甘肃、陕西、福建、广州、北京等17个省市的30余座城市，最终抵达北京。

Starting from Kashgar, Cammarota will embark on a 15-month cultural journey across China and explore over 30 cities in 17 provinces and autonomous regions, including Gansu, Shaanxi, Fujian and Guangdong provinces, and Beijing. Her journey will culminate in Beijing to mark the 750th anniversary of Marco Polo's arrival in China.