The paper recalls the various phases in the diffusion of knowledge about Marco Polo’s journey. It especially highlights his later discovery in China, which occurred only during the eighteenth century and was made by Protestant missionaries. At the same time, also in Italy his name began to be remembered again, thanks to our first Ambassador to China, who indicated Marco Polo as a champion of the Italian presence in East Asia. Thus, it contributed to the spreading of his fame also in Italy. We can thus appreciate a few episodes of such a history, in Italy and in China, rich in misunderstandings, which, however, turned the Venetian into the symbol of the modern traveler.
Sapienza University of Rome, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-1064-8930
Chapter Title
La Cina scopre Marco Polo
Authors
Federico Masini
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0883-3.11
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2025
Copyright Information
© 2025 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Il Milione nel tempo tra Asia ed Europa: Marco Polo nelle letterature medievali e contemporanee
Book Subtitle
Atti del Convegno Internazionale (Siena, 7–8 novembre 2024) e del Seminario “700 anni di Marco Polo” (Firenze, 11 dicembre 2024)
Editors
Paola Mocella
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
178
Publication Year
2025
Copyright Information
© 2025 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0883-3
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0882-6
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0883-3
eISBN (epub)
979-12-215-0884-0
Series Title
ConTesti medievali. Studi, ricerche e fonti