Marco Polo
Marco Polo (c. 1254-1324), Venetian merchant whose travels in Asia and book, the Travels, shaped European knowledge of the East.
Category: Figures
- c. 1254Birth of Marco Polo in Venice
Marco Polo, future merchant and traveller to the court of Kublai Khan, is born in Venice into a merchant family. His exact birth date and place are not documented; Venice and 1254 are the usual attribution.
- c. 1271Marco Polo leaves Venice with his father and uncle for the Mongol court
Aged about 17, Marco Polo sets out from Venice with his father Niccolò and uncle Maffeo on an overland journey across Asia to Kublai Khan. The date rests largely on Polo's own account.
- c. 1275Marco Polo reaches Kublai Khan's court at Shangdu
After a journey of about three and a half years the Polos arrive at Kublai Khan's summer capital, Shangdu (Xanadu). Marco serves the khan for some 17 years; his exact role is disputed.
- c. 1291Marco Polo leaves China from Zaitun with a Mongol princess's party
The Polos depart from the port of Zaitun by sea, escorting the princess Kököchin to Persia. Sources give 1291 or 1292.
- 1295Marco Polo returns to Venice after about 24 years in Asia
Marco Polo, his father and his uncle return to Venice in 1295 after about 24 years away, having travelled across Asia and served at Kublai Khan's court.
- c. 1298 – 1299Marco Polo dictates his Travels to Rustichello da Pisa in a Genoese prison
Held prisoner by Genoa, Polo dictates an account of his journeys to the romance writer Rustichello da Pisa. The book, in French, is later known as Il Milione. Tradition links his capture to Curzola (1298).
- c. 1302Francesco Pipino translates Marco Polo's Travels into Latin
The Dominican friar Francesco Pipino produces a Latin version of the Travels, one of the earliest translations and a source for the book's wide circulation in manuscript across Europe.
- 1324Death of Marco Polo in Venice
Marco Polo dies in Venice, usually dated to 8 January 1324 and buried at San Lorenzo. The Venetian calendar makes the day 8 or 9 January, and some sources conflict, so only the year is given.
- c. 1450Fra Mauro draws his world map in Venice, drawing on Marco Polo
The Camaldolese monk Fra Mauro makes a large world map at San Michele in Isola, Venice. Its Asian annotations draw on travellers such as Marco Polo and Niccolò de' Conti.
- 1559Ramusio's Navigationi et viaggi prints an Italian text of Marco Polo
The second volume of Giovanni Battista Ramusio's Delle navigationi et viaggi (1559) includes an Italian version of Polo's Travels, a widely used text of the book in the Renaissance.