72-Year-Old Walker to Retrace Silk Road from Venice to Beijing in Three Years

On April 26, 2022, Vienna Cammarota, a 72-year-old environmental hiking guide and Archeoclub D'Italia ambassador, will depart from Lazzaretto Nuovo in Venice on a three-year, 15-country walk to Beijing, China, arriving in December 2025. She aims to become the first woman to traverse the legendary Silk Road on foot, retracing Marco Polo's 13th-century journey with a copy of 'Il Milione.' Her route crosses Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia before entering China. Cammarota, a peace walker who has traveled through South America, Asia, and the Middle East, sees this expedition as a dialogue for peace amid European tensions, carrying both the Italian and Ukrainian flags. The journey is supported by the Fondazione Donà dalle Rose, whose president Chiara Modìca Donà dalle Rose emphasized Venice as the ideal starting point, and Archeoclub D'Italia, whose president Rosario Santanastasio noted the significance of departing from Lazzaretto Nuovo, an island restored by the association into a cultural museum. Cammarota, from Cilento, will be accompanied by her family sending essentials along the way.