MARCO POLO

Marco Polo was born in 1254, in Venice, Italy. His father, Niccolò Polo was a merchant who traded with the Middle East, achieving considerable wealth and prestige. Niccolò and his brother Maffeo set off on a trading voyage, before Marco was born. In 1260, Maffeo and Niccolò resided in Constantinople, where they foresaw a political change and liquidated their assets into jewels to move away.According to The Travels of Marco Polo, the brothers traveled through much of Asia, and met with the Kublai Khan.

Meanwhile Marco Polo's mother died, and he was raised by his aunt and uncle. He was well educated, and learned merchant subjects including foreign currency, appraising, and handling cargo ships, although he learned little or no Latin.


Voyages

The Polo family arrives in a Chinese city.In 1269, Marco Polo's father and uncle returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time. In 1271, Marco Polo (at seventeen years of age), his father, and his uncle set off for Asia; their extensive adventures were later documented in Marco's book. In 1295, 24 years after they started their journey, they returned to Venice with many riches and treasures which the Khan had given them. They had probably traveled nearly 15,000 miles (24,100 kilometres).


Captivity
On their return, Venice was at war with Genoa, and Marco Polo was held prisoner in 1296. He spent the few months of his imprisonment dictating a detailed account of his travels in the then-little-known parts of China to a fellow prisoner, Rustichello da Pisa. These stories incorporated tales of his own, as well as other collected anecdotes and current affairs from China, and became know in English as The Travels of Marco Polo. Depicting and detailing Polo's journeys throughout Asia, it gave Europeans their first comprehensive look into the inner workings of China, India, and Japan, among others.

Marco Polo was finally released from captivity in August 1299 and returned home to Venice, where his father and uncles had bought a large house in the central quarter named contrada San Giovanni Crisostomo with the company's profits. The company continued its activities and Marco soon became a wealthy merchant. Although he personally financed other expeditions, he would never leave Venice again. In 1300, he married Donata Badoer, the daughter of Vitale Badoer, a merchant. Marco would have three children with her: Fantina, Bellela and Moreta.