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One road. Two perspectives. Countless revelations.
Welcome to an exploration of the Silk Road—not just as a place on a map, but as a state of mind.
Meet Alessandro Codello. An internationally recognized physicist and author whose work explores the structure of the universe itself. Off the page, he travels by bicycle—tracing the ancient paths of the Silk Road, seeking not only terrain but truth. His voice is rooted in history, observation, and clarity—drawing lines between civilizations, empires, and the scientific awe of the cosmos.
His journey is chronicled in Impressioni dalla Via della Seta (Impressions from the Silk Road)—a deeply personal, visually rich travel memoir that follows his solo ride from Venice to China, through Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and the Mongolian steppes. It’s a meditation on borders, time, and meaning—seen through the eyes of a scientist who rides by instinct and inquiry.
Buy the Italian edition
Buy the Chinese edition
(Post by Post, we are sharing the English edition here)
And I am Toma Clark Haines, known in the interior design world, as CEO of The Antiques Diva & Co. I am a writer, entrepreneur, and tastemaker who moves through the world in search of story, soul, and design. I see travel as a philosophical act: a pursuit of beauty and cultural memory, a quest not only for objects from the past—but for meaning itself. When I collect, I’m not just gathering antiques. I’m gathering perspectives. Every item I find is a fragment of a life once lived, a trace of a civilization, a decorative echo of humanity.
I would never cross the Silk Road on a bicycle. Maybe a train. Or better yet, a flying carpet.
Together, we write in duet.
Each post begins with “He Said”—Alessandro’s grounded reflections from the road: cities crossed, people met, history unfolding.
Then comes “She Said”—my lyrical reply: layered with metaphor, memory, and the emotional geometry of what it means to be human.
I believe travel is not just movement—it’s metamorphosis. When we journey into the unfamiliar, we soften. We unlearn. We become.
Racism, prejudice, and fear begin to crumble the moment we begin to know the other.
And what is the other?
Another culture
Another belief system
Another way of seeing the world
Another gender, race, religion, class, or language
Even another way of being
This is not a blog about geography. Or travel. Or politics.
It is a conversation across time, terrain, and transformation.
We invite you to join us—by bicycle and by flying carpet. One kilometer, one idea, one soul-stirring revelation at a time.
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