{"id":644,"date":"2024-11-22T07:59:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T06:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fontegaiatour.it\/en\/blog\/?p=644"},"modified":"2025-03-26T07:20:22","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T06:20:22","slug":"exploremore-a-journey-worth-a-million-on-marco-polos-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fontegaiatour.it\/en\/blog\/exploremore-a-journey-worth-a-million-on-marco-polos-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"#EXPLOREMORE: A journey worth a \u201cMillion\u201d, on Marco Polo\u2019s trail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the most fascinating journeys of all time is the one undertaken by Marco Polo on the Silk Road, a crossroads of goods, cultures, people, emotions and stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201c\u2026Signori imperadori, re e duci e tutte altre gente che volete sapere le diverse generazioni delle genti e le diversit\u00e0 delle regioni del mondo, leggete questo libro dove le troverrete tutte le grandissime maraviglie e gran diversitadi delle genti d\u2019Erminia, di Persia e di Tarteria, d\u2019India e di molte altre province\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nMarco Polo, Il Milione<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays, the concept of travel is very different from that of the past. The first travelers were explorers who traveled to discover portions of the world that were still unknown<\/strong>. They used to draw maps and geographical charts that would allow those who came after them to have a more precise idea of \u200b\u200bwhat the world was. These were individuals who embarked, often in the true sense of the word. Their enterprises had an uncertain outcome, sometimes dangerous, traveling towards the unknown. They are the ones who revealed the world to us as we know it<\/strong>, allowing us to explore it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But let’s take a step back and dust off from the history books who Marco Polo was!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Marco<\/figure><\/div>
\"Marco<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Marco Polo (1254 \u2013 1324)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

He was a Venetian merchant who in 1271, at the age of 17, left with his father and uncle for China. He settled in the East where he lived for 17 years, becoming Kublai Khan\u2019s advisor and ambassador.
On his return he was captured by the Genoese at war with Venice and imprisoned. During his imprisonment he met Rustichello da Pisa to whom he dictated his memoirs, better known as Il Milione<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why \u201cIl Milione\u201d?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The text was written and distributed in French and under various titles: Divisament dou monde<\/em>, Livres des merveilles du monde<\/em>, De mirabilibus mundi<\/em>. The original has been lost and the one that has reached us is the result of some translations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title Million derives from the fact that \u201cin the continuous recounting of the countries he had visited, Marco referred to everything \u201cin millions\u201d, exaggerating. So they nicknamed him \u201cmesser Marco Milioni\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Marco<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Marco<\/figure><\/div>
\"Marco<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Focus On: The Silk Road<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is a network of caravan routes and trade routes that connected East Asia, especially China, to the Near East and the Mediterranean basin. Along this road silk circulated, a highly sought-after and coveted commodity of which the Chinese guarded the secret of production. The road continued to expand even after of Marco Polo\u2019s death for about 150 years. It reached an extension of over 8000 km2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco Polo\u2019s trail<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Marco Polo\u2019s journey was long and perilous. We can mention some of the main stops starting from Georgia<\/strong>, Turkey<\/strong> and Istanbul<\/strong>, once known as Constantinople, an important trading center in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After passing Armenia, Marco Polo went back down the Tigris, crossing ancient Mesopotamia<\/strong> and the cities of Mosul and Baghdad. He then reached Persia<\/strong> and Afghanistan<\/strong>. There he came across the Pamir mountain range, one of the highest in the world, on the border with Kashmir. Marco took 40 days to cross the mountains, after which he reached the Tamir basin<\/strong>, the current region of Xinjiang, in northwestern China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next stop was the Gobi Desert. A stop of about a year, between scarcity of food and water, hallucinations and the immensity of this desert. After following the course of the Yellow River, he arrived in the \u201cgreat city of Cambulac\u201d. It’s today\u2019s Beijing<\/strong>, at the time the seat of the court of the Great Khan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Il Milione<\/em> is full of descriptions of unknown phenomena, such as \u201cburning oil\u201d, that is, petroleum, on the border between \u201cGreater Armenia and Georgia\u201d, corresponding to today\u2019s Baku, in Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco Polo: On the Way Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After 17 years, Marco Polo was allowed to return home. The first stop on the return journey was the Chinese city of Hangzhou<\/strong>. From there Marco, his father and his uncle embarked to cross the China Sea towards Indonesia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They crossed the Strait of Malacca<\/strong>, Sumatra, the western coast of Malaysia and Singapore. After crossing the Strait of Hormuz that divides the Persian Gulf from the Indian Ocean, as on the outward journey they passed through present-day Iran<\/strong> up to Tabriz, Trebizond, today’s Turkey, on the Black Sea and Constantinople, from where they embarked for Greece<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After three years they reached Venice. It was November 9, 1295.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cCredo che fosse piacere a Dio il nostro ritorno, affinch\u00e9 si conoscessero le cose che ci sono per il mondo e non ci fu mai uomo, n\u00e9 cristiano, n\u00e9 saracino, n\u00e9 tartaro, n\u00e9 pagano, che mai abbia cercato tanto nel mondo quanto fece messer Marco\u201d.<\/p>\nMarco Polo, Il Milione<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most fascinating journeys of all time is the one undertaken by Marco Polo on the Silk Road, a crossroads of goods, cultures, people, emotions and stories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[16],"tags":[22,17],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fontegaiatour.it\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/marco_polo_007.jpg?fit=1280%2C853&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa7uIP-ao","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":563,"url":"https:\/\/fontegaiatour.it\/en\/blog\/summer-2024-the-3-coolest-destinations-chosen-by-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":644,"position":0},"title":"Summer 2024: the 3 coolest destinations chosen by you!","author":"Fonte Gaia","date":"11 September 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Summer is coming to an end and as every year, some destinations have become real \u201chits\u201d! 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