The book "Il Milione" or: "Travels of Marco Polo", a famous Venetian merchant and travel writer Marco Paul (translated Radmila D. Mandić) is one of the most popular Italian literary works of the Middle Ages. The book was created in 1298 and was in such demand that the Venetian authorities at the time decided to place it in one of the most prominent places in the city, and for this purpose they chose the monumental Rijalto Bridge that spans the Grand Canal in the very heart of the city. In a prominent place on the bridge, they tied the book with chains (as if it were some kind of dangerous beast), so that as many people as possible could see it, and that no one could take it home and appropriate it. That part of Venice has always been the busiest because there were many important markets and shops for various purposes, so a lot of people crossed that bridge every day, which contributed to Polo's book quickly gaining great popularity. Someone also titles this book as "Marco Polo's Million Voyages", which probably resulted from the established data that Polo really made a lot of long journeys, especially throughout the eastern part of our planet, that he was one of the greatest travelers of his time, which is why some say that Polo was the world's greatest traveler. He learned the trade profession from his father Nicholas it spoils them matthew who even before Mark's birth traveled through Asia and met Kublai Khan, the most politically significant personality of that era.
To the east along the Silk Road
In the book "Million", the most talked about is Marko Polo's journey together with his father Nikola and uncle Mateo to the east, the famous Silk Road. In it, the networks of caravan routes that connected the Mediterranean with East Asia, that is, with the most important places of that part of the Asian continent, are described to a large extent and almost to the smallest detail. So, this book tells about a long, epic journey of three Venetian merchants, full of dangers and unpredictable surprises, about sailing the seas where until then only brave and experienced sailors steered. All this happened during the second half of the thirteenth century, and their journey represents one of the greatest undertakings in the history of great geographical discoveries. This book describes a significant part of the world not only known at that time, but also unknown to Europeans. According to Marco Polo's dictation, the work was written down by the novelist Rustic Kelo from Pisa while both were imprisoned in the Genoese prison.
Even then, during his lifetime, Marco Polo was a well-known merchant and traveler, and with this book he gained a reputation as a world-renowned explorer and travel writer. According to some Venetian sources, Marco Polo's ancestors were Dalmatians, from Korčula, and he is also mentioned as one of the first Europeans who, during a 24-year long journey, went to China, Burma, Vietnam, and even much further. Thus, Marco Polo was not the first European to reach China, but he was the first to leave a detailed chronicle of his experiences. His book "Million" was an inspiring work for many sailors, explorers of the unknown regions of our planet, and even for Christophera Columba. In addition, this book was of great importance for some important geographical discoveries, so geographical maps of the Far East were made based on this book for a long time. That's right, the German cartographer Johan Sener In 1533, he wrote that Marco Polo was responsible for the discoveries of some important cities in Central Asia. Not only geographical maps but also some important books are based on Paul's writings, so it can be justified to say that he had an important influence on European cartography and culture in general.
On his numerous travels, Marco Polo encountered so many strange and interesting events that Europeans in their countries at that time could not even dream of. Many events, personal experiences and knowledge gained on those trips were chronologically presented by Polo in this book, which was given the title "Il Milione" in a rather unusual way.
Word million is in a direct connection with Marco Polo, that is, with his travels, returns to Venice, especially in an inseparable connection with the endless stories he told about those travels. At that time, when you wanted to say that there were a lot of something, you would say "thousands..." or if there were more than that, then you would say: "thousands of thousands" as if the noun "million" was not existed. However, Marco Polo's full name was Marco Emilio Polo, so his second name - Emilio, soon became known among the Venetian population, and the coin "emilione" spread, from which, with minor modifications, a new number was "born" - million.
European fascination with Cinema
The book "Million" is an exceptional read that in an exemplary way forms a link between two large but mutually distant parts of the world such as Europe on the one hand and Central Asia and China on the other.
Marco Polo and his book "Million" is essential reading in the course of studying the ancient characteristics of this distant country, although there are also those who believe that Marco Polo has never been to China. That he was telling other people's stories that he had heard and remembered somewhere "along the way". Because of this, many considered Marco Polo one of the world's greatest explorers, while some skeptics preferred to see him as the world's greatest storyteller - both his own and others'. This claim is also supported by the fact that his notes do not mention imposing buildings such as the Great Wall of China, for example. There is no mention of the Chinese traditional drink - tea. There is no mention of binding women's feet and many other interesting things that have been characteristic of the life of the people there since ancient times. What is even more strange: why is the name of Marco Polo not mentioned anywhere, even in some secondary Chinese source, a man who, together with his father Nikola and uncle Mateo, was close to the local ruler Kublai Khan, the grandson of the most famous conqueror Genghis Khan, which Polo talked about extensively.
However, it would be a mistake not to mention the multitude of facts that support the opposite opinion of the mentioned skeptics, because this work of Marco Polo has proven to be true and not invented; it showed special importance especially for the later generations of geographers. According to "Million", for example, geographical maps and atlases were made, and in Colombo he carefully studied the story of Marco Polo and gained the conviction that, given that the Earth is round, traveling to the West, he would reach China. However, Christopher Columbus did not succeed in this intention, he did not reach the region described by Marco Polo, because he was stopped on the way by the land that later became known as America. Columbus had a Latin edition of this book and according to Mark's descriptions he compared the places he himself discovered.
The multiple values of the book "Million" are undeniable. In it, among other things, there are significant descriptions of regions that were still insufficiently known to Europeans at that time, located in the space between icy Siberia and the island of Java, and from the east coast of Africa to Japan. The book "Million" was also considered as a significant historical source on the data of the first encounters of Westerners with the well-organized Mongol Empire and the multi-millennium civilizations of the East. This is why this book was also known as the "Book of Wonders of the World". In any case, the book was a permanent monument to the European curiosity and fascination that was nourished by distant China and the unknown spaces of vast Asia...
Told only part of what he saw...
Based on an important document from the 15th century, some investigators believe that Marco Polo was originally from Dalmatia, that he was born on Korcula, but there are also some Venetian documents that say that even Marco Polo's grandfather, whose name was also Marco, was born in a suburb of Venice. However, this cannot in any case negate the possibility that Marco Polo's parents were on Korčula at the time of his birth, in the homeland of their ancestors, in which case both documents would be correct. The Poles were otherwise very capable traders, especially in trade with the peoples of the East.
When the brothers Nikola and Mateo set off on their second journey to China in 1271 and took Nikola's son Mark with them, they reached the Syrian coast by sea and then by land to Hormuz, then via Kerman to Balk and the Pamir Plateau and the mountains of Tajikistan in order to finally between Tibet and Lop Nur, they crossed the Gobi and in 1275 they arrived at Kublai Khan. Marko soon became the Khan's confidant and remained in his service for 17 years. In the course of that service, he traveled to many parts of the Far East, which helped Mark to get to know the customs of the people there and to learn the languages spoken by those people. In the book "Million" it is said that during his stay in China, Marco Polo was the governor of the Chinese city of Yangkou for three years.
In 1292, the Poles decided to return to their homes, so after several years spent on the road, they arrived in Venice only at the end of 1295.
Less than three years later, Marco Polo took part in a conflict between Venetian and Genoese ships not far from Korčula, and there Marco was captured. In captivity, he told his travel experiences to his friend Rusticel from Pisa, who recorded them in French.
Marco Polo lived from 1254 to 1324. Almost a full year before his death, he was bedridden, but despite the wholehearted efforts of Venice's best doctors to help him, Marko succumbed to the disease. His wife Donatus, and named his three daughters as heirs to his property. By law, the church also had the right to inheritance, which Marko did not object to, but ordered that the additional sum be paid to the monastery of San Lorenzo, the place where he wanted to be buried.
While Marco Polo was lying on his deathbed, his family begged him to admit that the stories written in the book "Million" were not true, that he had invented them. However, Marko refused their request and allegedly said: that he only told half of what he really saw.
"Invisible Cities"
Marco Polo was the subject of many films, popular TV series and literary works. It has become an indisputable fact of modern pop culture.
However, it is worth highlighting one wonderful book by an Italian modern magician Italo Calvino inspired by Marco Polo and his storytelling. It is about the book "Invisible Cities" (published in Italian in 1972), which is a monument to Calvin's imagination, and the narrative frame is chosen ideally for such a writer to spread his wings: stories about invisible cities are stories that Marco Polo, like Scheherazade specialized in urban models, tells to the Chinese emperor Kublai Khan, describing the wonderful, sometimes bizarre cities he encountered on his journey...
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