Treats from city of canals

The last of a five-year series of Italian art shows in Beijing has begun, bringing Venice into focus. Lin Qi reports.

Ahead of the opening of Venice and the Venetian School at the National Museum of China on Thursday, the museum held an interaction over the popular Chinese micro blog Sina Weibo, where questions about the art exhibition were answered by officials from the museum and the Italian government.

Many Chinese asked about Titian and wanted to know how many of the 16th-century painter's works would be displayed at the exhibition. Would his work, Venus of Urbino, for example, be shown? A prominent member of the Venetian school, Titian is among the Italian artists who are most famous among Chinese.