On the trail of Marco Polo the book · The book in On the trail of Marco Polo
All Destinations | Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | Hotels
The book in On the trail of Marco Polo
The book in On the trail of Marco Polo
Marco Polo owes his fame to a book which he wrote with Rusticiano of Pisa after his return. At the time, there was an intense rivalry between the great trading cities of Venice, Pisa and Genoa. Polo and Rusticiano were both prisoners of war in Genoa when they met and wrote the book.
The original title translates as A Description of the World, but it is usually referred to as The Travels of Marco Polo. This was the first account of a journey to the East to be widespread in Europe, and was the best reference on Asia from its publication around 1300 until the Portuguese reached the East by sea 200 years later. Polo's tales of the riches of the East were part of the reason for the Portuguese voyages, and later spurred on Columbus.
The book was the first in Europe to mention a number of things including oil from Iran, and coal, paper money and window glass from China. Some claim that Polo introduced noodles to Italy, but this is hotly disputed.
This itinerary is based on a version of the book downloaded from Project Gutenberg . They describe it as "the unabridged third edition (1903) of Henry Yule's annotated translation, as revised by Henri Cordier; together with Cordier's later
volume of notes and addenda (1920)." All quotes are from that version.
There is considerable scholarly controversy about the book. It was written by two Italians, but the original was probably in medieval French, the trade language of the day. The oldest known copies are from a few decades later, several conflicting versions in French, Italian and Latin. A later Italian version contains additional material, apparently based on Polo family papers. Polo actually saw some of the things he speaks of, but for others he repeats tales from other travelers. Which are which? How much did Rusticiano, the writer of romances, embellish the story? Some critics say Marco never got East of Kashgar and only heard tales of central China ? he never mentions chopsticks, tea, bound feet, or the Great Wall. Others cite Mongol records indicating someone named Polo was indeed there.
Fortunately, various scholars have figured out most of this. Here, we simply follow Yule and Cordier, and discuss the route as the book gives it, ignoring the controversies.
The book generally uses Persian names for places. What about the Mongol names? Or Chinese? What was lost in various translations? In various wars? Is the city still there? Has it been renamed? We give Polo's term and the modern name. For example, Polo's Kinsay (which Yule and Cordier call Hang-Chau-Fu) is Hangzhou.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about On the trail of Marco Polo
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in On the trail of Marco Polo - updated May 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount On the trail of Marco Polo hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
>>> SEARCH FOR DEALS <<<
WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT IN 2020
On the trail of Marco Polo Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.