The atrium of Palazzo Blu as of today hosts a yurt, the typical home of the nomad populations of Central Asia, which can be taken down, moved, and reassembled relatively quickly. The yurt was set up on occasion of the opening of the photographic exhibit “Marco Polo’s travels in Michael Yamashita’s photographs” (24 March - 1 July), organized for the Palazzo Blu Foundation by the "National Geographic", with the contribution of the Fondazione Pisa and the Giuseppe Tucci National Museum of Oriental Art. The yurt will remain there until the exhibit closes.
The yurt was assembled by some of the Erasmus+ students attending the University of Pisa with the “KA107” international credit mobility project for students, teachers and staff from non-European countries, along with professor Pier Giorgio Borbone, full professor of Hebrew and Syriac Language and Literature in the Department of Civilizations and Forms of Knowledge. The students, who come from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, had the opportunity of sharing their cultural traditions on the very day the they celebrate Nawruz, the first day of spring, and of the New Year. Professor Ann Katherine Isaacs, expert on European programmes for education and research, and involved for many years in higher education projects in Central Asia, underlined the great contribution that mobility projects make to fostering inclusion and reciprocal knowledge between peoples and individuals, as well as, naturally, scientific and academic knowledge.
The Palazzo Blu Foundation and the University of Pisa have made an agreement so that the students, teaching staff and administrative personnel of the University can visit the exhibit at a reduced price.
