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- His father Niccolò Polo came from an old Dalmatian family that had settled in the Adriatic lagoon city around 1000 and was primarily dedicated to trade with the Middle East. Little is known about Marco's youth: he grew up with his mother in Venice in the absence of his traveling salesman father. During those years, Niccolò Polo and his brother Matteo Polo undertook extensive journeys to Asia Minor, which even took them to Beijing in 1266. In 1271, the young Marco Polo accompanied his father and uncle on their journey, which they undertook again on Pope Gregory X's diplomatic mission to the Emperor of China. The Polo traveled from Venice to Beijing via Acri, Persia, Afghanistan, the Silk Road and the Gobi Desert in three and a half years.
After arriving in Beijing in 1275, Marco Polo undertook various diplomatic missions on behalf of the Chinese emperor, which took him to Tibet and other provinces of the empire. He meticulously wrote down his travel impressions and experiences that he collected throughout China in the following years. In 1292, the Venetians found the opportunity to return by joining the Chinese princess's journey to Persia to join her fiancé. First they reached Hormuz in Persia on a sea voyage via Sumatra, Ceylon and the west coast of India. After a stay of several months at the Persian court, the Polo traveled back to Venice via Constantinople, where they arrived in 1295.
After Marco Polo began regular business as a merchant in his hometown, he was taken prisoner by the Genoese around 1297 as a result of military conflicts at sea between Venice and Genoa. There he dictated his extensive travel report to a fellow prisoner. In 1299, Marco Polo regained his freedom after the peace agreement between the two city republics. A little later he married Donata Badoer, with whom he had three daughters. Marco Polo's travel report was widely distributed under the title "Il milione" and was soon translated into several languages. One of the most important geographical texts of the Middle Ages, "Il milione" offered a colorful description of the cultures and landscapes of Asia as well as a treasure trove of information for future trade with those regions.
Marco Polo died on January 8, 1324 in Venice.