Marco Polo was born in Venice into a merchant family and grew up hearing stories of travel and adventure. He joined his father on a trip to China, which turned into a 17-year residence. He returned to Europe and dictated his adventures to Rustichello da Pisa, which became the book “The Travels of Marco Polo”. He became a celebrity and a wealthy merchant, but never left Italy again. He died in 1324.
Marco Polo was born on September 15, 1254 in Venice, Italy. Born into a merchant family, he grew up hearing family stories of travel and adventure. His father, together with two brothers, moved for years, living and trading everywhere, from the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea up to today’s Uzbekistan. This instilled in him two of the greatest loves of his life: traveling and trading.
It was Marco Polo’s father who first traveled the famous Chinese Silk Road. A couple of years after the original trip, Polo joined his father on a repeat trip to see Kublai Khan. What was originally planned as a short visit turned into a 17-year residence in the Chinese Empire. Marcus became the Khan’s favorite and accompanied him on official business throughout the kingdom.
He returned to Europe in 1291, where he was soon involved in the family trading business. During this period, he also dictated many of his adventures to Rustichello da Pisa, a writer of romance novels, who wrote the book Il Milione, later translated into English as “The Travels of Marco Polo”. Polo is sometimes misidentified as the first Westerner to reach China, but he was not. Indeed, many explorers before him have visited the Khan’s court. What makes it so memorable is the fact that he lived in China long enough to learn its customs and experience daily life firsthand.
When Il Milione was published, he immediately became a celebrity. At a time when Asia was shrouded in such mystery to the Western world, the book was a portal into a mysterious and magical world. This was both a blessing and a curse for the man, who often had to endure cruel jokes from locals who didn’t believe the stories told in the book.
Marco Polo became a wealthy merchant later in life, but never again left Italy on his expeditions. He acted as an advisor or sponsor to other travelers and often helped other merchants to establish their trade with the Orient. He married late, aged 46, and had three daughters. Polo died on January 8, 1324.
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