Marco Polo is the Venetian who described the Invisible Cities to the Great Khan: “all this was begun by Marco Polo”.
| Type | Character |
| Era | 13th–14th century |
| Spanish entry | Marco Polo |
Description
He is foremost among the quasi-mythical figures reaching the Great Khan, master of the known world, from distant lands that pay tribute without being fully subdued. Some call him Marco the Great.
He gave the names: Cathay is “the name Marco Polo gave to this land”, and those arriving by sea still seek it.
The cities
The invisible cities belong to the Great Khan, perhaps the summit of his skill, from when he spoke with the West, with Marco Polo, about defeating the hosts of the shadow coming from the north, other planes and the rifts. Each city keeps its own text, describing it as Marco Polo told it before the coming of the Shadow. Emissaries find otherwise: instead of sixty domes and a golden rooster, the domes lie fallen and the rooster is lead.
Life
- A prisoner of the Genoese (“of the first ones”), he produced The Million in captivity; imprisoned, he dictates the cities, which appear drawn on the cell wall.
- He escorted the princess Kököchin, daughter of another khanate, toward Kublai Khan’s court; she never arrived.
- Linked to Venice’s San Marco (“stolen from Alexandria”), the Arsenal, and “Marco Polo in reverse: from China to Japan”.
Relationships
“An art of Remembering” ties him to Dante, his contemporary and fellow captive of a foreign city: Dante’s memory is erased, and could be rewritten for him.