Marco Polo - PAC Museum 2014

Marco Polo 
An Epic Journey

May 6 - October 26, 2014


Pointe-à-Callière (PAC), Montreal’s Archaeology and History Museum, is offering its visitors on a unique time capsule voyage. This exhibition will transport visitors into the 13th century, on a journey that Marco Polo undertook from Venice to China and back to Venice.

This journey was so exceptional and truly amazing that it is still widely acknowledged and discussed over seven centuries later. This event demonstrates the immense impact of the journey described in the explorer’s travelogue The Travels of Marco Polo or Description of the World, in which Marco Polo tells the story of his travels through the book's writer Rustichello da Pisa who was imprisoned with Marco Polo in Genoa from 1296 to 1298. Marco Polo narrated his voyage to a this fellow prisoner while incarcerated because of a war-times on his return back to Venice. 

This book had helped with the advancement of map-making, which in turn led to major exploration of the globe beginning in the 15th century. It even had a hand in influencing Christopher Columbus to set sail towards the west to open a new route to India and finally discover America in 1492.

Above is an evocative image from the Description of the World which shows Marco Polo at the age of 17, sitting astride between his father and his uncle as they began their epic journey in Venice. They actually left the city by sea rather than on horseback. The illustrator's intent seemed to be to depict the seriousness of the situation, as well as what might have been going through their minds, wondering if they were ever to return, given the many dangers awaiting them on the road ahead.

The book is no doubt the most famous travel guide ever written: landscapes, climates, dangers, rites and customs, clothing, fauna, flora, distances travelled on foot as well as horse or camel, festivities in the court of Emperor Kublai Khan, and much more. Marco Polo described everything he saw along the way, as well as everything he was told and all that he heard during his many experiences. Those memories serve as a guide through the exhibition.

The image above from the Description of the World shows the emperor Kublai Khan releasing his hunting falcon. It was said he had leopards that were so well trained, they could be used to hunt and retrieve other game. A tamed and smiling leopard is seen in this image actually riding astride the emperor's horse.

Marco Polo travelled over 20,000 kilometres on his journey, going mostly by land and returning by sea. The exhibition gives visitors a chance to experience several stops along this 13th century's route.

Visit the Point-à-Callière Museum's website for more information.

http://www.pacmusee.qc.ca/en/home

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