Italian sculptor once follows legend to China, expects to ride China-Europe high-speed train now

EXPECTATION OF EUROPE-ASIA HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY

Italy is a nation in the West with cultural ties closest to China, Cimarelli said, it is no surprise that in China the two most famous historical figures from the West are Italian -- Marco Polo (1254-1324) and Matteo Ricci.

He is confident that Italy, once an important terminal of the ancient Silk Road, would play a major role in the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013.

The initiative consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, with an aim to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes.

Apart from the economics, Cimarelli said, the Belt and Road Initiative, just as the ancient Silk Road, serves for a deeper cause too, which is the exchange and understanding of cultures.

"I think primarily it's business. That was the same in the Middle Age when Marco Polo was travelling, that's the main purpose. But behind that, for me the culture is very important," he said.

"It would be like a way, a road along which you can do business with countries, but there is also cultural exchange which we need today," he noted.

"I think today we need more bridges than walls, we need more understanding than trying to avoid each other," he said.

Cimarelli also expressed his hope that Europe and Asia would be soon connected by the high-speed rail that is commonly seen all over China.

"They did in China several huge projects with the train, like the one from Beijing to Lhasa (in west China's Tibet region). I really hope they can do that (between Europe and China) because that would be an amazing and incredible trip, and I would really enjoy it. I hope I will not be too old to wait for that," he said.