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Lesson 2 of 5

Exploring Marco Polo

Let’s meet Marco Polo, the famous explorer who influenced Europe’s understanding of the world. Discover Asia in his medieval travel book!
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In this lesson, we'll explore the key facts from Polo’s travels. Let’s start with a short introduction about this role model for generations of explorers.
To start our warm-up, let’s guess a fact.
Spending 24 years abroad means vast travel experience, and we can thank Marco Polo for sharing his incredible adventures in an extraordinary book. Try guessing how he made it.

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Common questions

Probably yes, though a few scholars doubt it. Most historians accept that Marco Polo reached China, pointing to his detailed descriptions of the Mongol court, the postal system, and cities that match Chinese and Persian sources. Critics note that he omitted things like the Great Wall and tea, and that no Chinese record names him.

No. Pasta was already part of Italian cooking before Marco Polo was born, so the story that he brought it back from China is a myth. Historians reject it, and so does the International Pasta Organization. What he did describe to Europeans was Mongol paper money, which was used in Asia but not in Europe.

Rustichello of Pisa, a romance writer, wrote it down. According to tradition, Marco Polo dictated his travel stories to him around 1298 while both were held in Genoa. No original manuscript survives, and early copies differ in details, but they follow the same stories.

Yes. Columbus read Marco Polo's account and carried a marked-up copy on his 1492 voyage. Polo's description of Kublai Khan's wealthy China helped inspire him to sail west toward Asia. Columbus instead found the Americas, which stood in his way.

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