Family Origin

Marco Polo was born in 1254 in the Republic of Venice. His exact date and place of birth are archivally unknown. Some historians mentioned that he was born on September 15 but that date is not endorsed by mainstream scholarship.

Marco Polo's birthplace is generally considered Venice, but also varies between Constantinople and the island of Korčula. There is dispute as to whether the Polo family is of Venetian origin, as Venetian historical sources considered them to be of Dalmatian origin. The lack of evidence makes the Korčula theory (probably under Ramusio influence) as a specific birthplace strongly disputed, and even some Croatian scholars consider it justly invented.

• Outline of Marco Polo (1254-1324)
  

  HISTORIC PEOPLE

  Marco Polo (1254-1324)

  Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant, explorer, and writer. His travels are recorded in Livres des merveilles du monde (Book of the Marvels of the World, also known as The Travels of Marco Polo, c. 1300), a book that described to Europeans the wealth and great size of China, its capital Peking, and other Asian cities and countries. View Marco Polo (1254-1324) »

  Family Origin: Marco Polo's birthplace is generally considered Venice, but also varies between Constantinople and the island of Korčula.

  Early life and Asian travel: He received a good education, learning mercantile subjects including foreign currency, appraising, and the handling of cargo ships; he learned little or no Latin.

  Genoese captivity and later life: He spent several months of his imprisonment dictating a detailed account of his travels to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa, who incorporated tales of his own as well as other collected anecdotes and current affairs from China.

  Death: He divided up the rest of his assets, including several properties, among individuals, religious institutions, and every guild and fraternity to which he belonged.

  Travels of Marco Polo: Approximately 150 manuscript copies in various languages are known to exist, and before availability of the printing press discrepancies were inevitably introduced during copying and translation.

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