To commemorate the VII Centenary of Marco Polo’s birth, the Administration of Posts and Telecommunications of Italy issued on the 8th July, 1954, two special postage stamps of 60 and 25 lire, bearing one design which was conceived by Ing. Romolo de Caterini and performed by the “Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato”.

  

That design shows the portrait of the great Venetian traveller, drawn from an ancient engraving, and the symbols of Venice (St. Marcus’ winged lion) and China (the dragon).

 

As a background, there is a map showing the itinerary that Marco Polo followed in his travels towards far East.

  

By the side of the symbol of Venice there is the Latin sentence, Pax tibi Marce (Peace be with thee, Marcus) and by the side of the symbol of China four ideograms in the Chinese language are transcribed, the translation of which is, “Europe and Asia, to join two parts of one gem”.

 

Considering that such sentence is drawn from the ancient Chinese saying “The Sun, the Moon, to join two parts of one gem” a saying which means “ Peace” that sentence is meant to signify, “Peace which springs by the intimate union of Europe and Asia.”

  

Such were, in fact, the noble, great ends of Marco Polo’s mission in East.

The stamp, which was engraved by Mario Colombati, has been printed in calcography by the “Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato”, on white, water—marked paper, showing the winged wheel, the following colours being used: gray—green (60 lire) and sepia—reddish (25 lire).

 

The aforesaid stamps be current for the franking of mails until the 31st December, 1955.

 

MARCO POLO (1254—1324)

 

He was born of a noble Venetian family. In 1271, when seventeen years of age, deeply moved by his father Nicolò and uncle Matteo’s tales of their travels in far East, he wanted to join them in a long, fantastic travel as far as the farthest borders of Asia.

 

When in China, he soon distinguished himself by his skill, culture and the nobleness of his feelings.

 

His influence grew so great that he became a councillor, a governor, a minister and an ambassador of Kubilai, the Great Khan of Tartars.

 

So, in about a quarter of a century that he stayed there , he was able to know minutely the boundless Asiatic world, to study it, to understand it.

 

The great Venetian was always regarded, chiefly by the Chinese, as the messanger of their civilisation, their faithful, loyal friend, the man who aimed above all to realize the agreement between East and West.

  

Posterity has always regarded him as one of the greatest land travellers the world has ever known and undoubtedly as the first who divulged in West the greatness of Asiatic civilisation by a work which is famous in the history of peoples , “The Book of Wonders” or “Il Milione”.

 

That book was dictated by him when a prisoner of the Genoese, who had captured him in 1298, at Curzola, during a sea—fight between the two great Italian republics.

It was this “Book of Wonders” that later on stimulated Christopher Colombo to try to

reach Asia by following the opposite route, the westward one, a travel that, as is known, led to the discovery of America. (Ministerial act).