Storiascopio · Era 8 of 12 · lower secondary year 1
Marco Polo sets off for Asia
1271 · From Venice to China
In short
Marco Polo was a young Venetian merchant when he set off for Asia with his father Niccolò and his uncle Maffeo. They travelled for years along the Silk Road and reached the court of Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor of China. Marco stayed in China for about seventeen years and carried out tasks for the emperor. Back home and taken prisoner by the Genoese, he told his travels to Rustichello da Pisa, who wrote them down in the book known in English as The Travels of Marco Polo.
Why it matters The Travels made Asia known to Europeans and inspired travellers and explorers, including Christopher Columbus.
Source: Treccani, entry “Polo, Marco”
Where we are in the era “Late Middle Ages”
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about 1050Event 17 of 251429
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/marco-polo-sets-off-for-asia/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class