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Marco Polo Author & Editor

Marco Polo (c.1254-1324) was a Christian merchant from the Venetian Republic who learned about trading while his father and uncle travelled through Asia. In 1269 the brothers returned and met Marco for the first time. The three of them then embarked on a new journey to Asia, returning after more than two decades to find Venice at war. Marco was imprisoned in Genoa, whereupon he dictated his romantic-sounding stories to a cellmate. The popularity of his account is a rare example of a success in publishing before the age of printing.