This essay examines the presence and function of Marco Polo in Italian literature, focusing in particular on works and authors from the second half of the twentieth century, from Primo Levi to Italo Calvino, Franco Fortini to Goffredo Parise, Umberto Eco to Giorgio Manganelli. Starting from some possible definitions inspired by the figure, the book, and even the myth of Marco Polo (elusive authorship, canonicality without an author, narrator without identity, classic without language), the essay illustrates the two different ideas of writing, opposing but not irreconcilable, that Il Milione has evoked for contemporary writers: writing as artifice and writing as experience.
University of Siena, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-9192-692X
Chapter Title
Marco Polo nella letteratura italiana del Novecento
Authors
Niccolò Scaffai
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0883-3.16
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