This January marks the death of Venetian merchant, explorer and writer Marco Polo 698 years ago. That would make him - hold on - 768 year old today, had he been alive. 🎂
We know, so old.
But why do we still talk about him today?
Because Marco Polo is one of the most famous and iconic figures in the history of Venice.
As a son of merchants, and a traveller himself to the Far East as a young man, he stands apart from those who simply desired to make money by trading or from those whose main purpose – especially Franciscan friars – was to bring Christ to distant lands deemed ‘barbarous’ or without faith. ✝️
Instead, Marco Polo was curious about people, customs, languages, cultures and lifestyles. Not only that; he would later describe his travels in a work dictated to his cellmate while in prison in Genoa after a battle that ended in defeat for the Venetian
fleet. His recount became a very successful book, known as Il Milione.
Il Milione is an extraordinary text, and for the most part faithful to the life experiences of the author. It is a secular, modern and non-rhetorical book that nevertheless stimulates the imagination and the quest for knowledge. 💡
For almost twenty-five years, Marco Polo was in the service of Kubilai Khan in the capital of China and Tartary. He held sensitive and prestigious positions as an adviser to the Khan or as his ambassador. He returned to Venice in 1295.
The figure of Marco Polo has enjoyed such enduring prestige because he so embodied the Venetian spirit of his time: a love of risk and adventure (swipe right for a flamboyant outfit), curiosity, diplomatic and merchant skills as well as the taste for description, critical consideration and verification of the reliability of sources. 🤸♀️
Moreover, Marco Polo was a leading figure in the most daring, dynamic and most important economic and political season of growth for the Venetian municipality, ready to transform itself into an oligarchic republic.
The bust of Marco Polo is from 1863, by Augusto Gamba and can be seen alongside more than 100 other objects and artefacts in 'VENICE - Power of the Sea', our special exhibition that runs until february 26th.
