838) Marco Polo, Explorer Italy (1254 - 8/9.01.1324) : A 10 Euro Silver Coin issued by Instituto Poligrafico e Zecca di Stato , the Italian State Mint (2018):
About Marco Polo:
Marco Polo was an Italian merchant, explorer and writer, born in the Republic of Venice in 1254 who is considered to be one of the greatest voyagers and explorers of all time.
The Obverse and Reverse of the 10 Euro Silver Coin shown against a background image of Marco Polo, the explorer & traveller, taken from a detail of a mosaic by Enrico Podio in Tursi Palace, Genoa.
In 1269, together with his father Niccolo and his uncle Matteo, (who were well-known merchants) he travelled on an epic journey to Asia along the Silk Route/Road and reached China. His father and uncle had earlier also had an audience with the Chinese emperor - Kublai Khan during one of their travels to China.
Marco returned only after 24 years of travels to find Venice was at war with Genoa.
Marco was imprisoned and dictated stories of his travels to a cell-mate - Rustichello da Pisa, who were both prisoners of the Genoa Republic.
Pisa penned details about Marco's travels in "travel journals" and recorded descriptions of the places he visited in the his book "Livres des merveilles du monde" (or "Book of the Marvels of the World", which is also known as "The Travels of Marco Polo"). The book described to the Europeans, the wealth and great size of China, its capital Peking and other Asian cities and countries, he visited.
Though Marco was not the first European to reach China, he was the first one to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. His work inspired several other explorers/travellers to explore the world by land and sea, as it represented an important source of information.
Marco Polo never produced a map that illustrated his journey, but, his daughters drew several maps to the Far East based on his accounts.
These maps contained details of his journey, including sea0routes to Japan, Siberia's Kamchatka Peninsula and the Bering Strait and even to the coastlines of Alaska, centuries before the "rediscovery" of the Americas by the Europeans.
Marco returned only after 24 years of travels to find Venice was at war with Genoa.
Marco was imprisoned and dictated stories of his travels to a cell-mate - Rustichello da Pisa, who were both prisoners of the Genoa Republic.
Pisa penned details about Marco's travels in "travel journals" and recorded descriptions of the places he visited in the his book "Livres des merveilles du monde" (or "Book of the Marvels of the World", which is also known as "The Travels of Marco Polo"). The book described to the Europeans, the wealth and great size of China, its capital Peking and other Asian cities and countries, he visited.
Though Marco was not the first European to reach China, he was the first one to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. His work inspired several other explorers/travellers to explore the world by land and sea, as it represented an important source of information.
Marco Polo never produced a map that illustrated his journey, but, his daughters drew several maps to the Far East based on his accounts.
These maps contained details of his journey, including sea0routes to Japan, Siberia's Kamchatka Peninsula and the Bering Strait and even to the coastlines of Alaska, centuries before the "rediscovery" of the Americas by the Europeans.
These Maps based on Marco's travel accounts, also influenced European cartography, which led to introduction of the famous "Fra Mauro map of the world" (in 1453) , which became a reference point for several later travellers.
The Commemorative Coin:
The Obverse of the Silver 10 Euro Coin features a portrait of Marco Polo, taken from a detail of a mosaic by Enrico Podio in Tursi Palace, Genoa.
In the background are stylised elements of oriental architecture with floral decorations. On the left is the family name of the designer "PETRASSI" (Full name of the designer is - Silvia Petrassi)
Around the periphery is given the name of the issuing country "REPUBBLICA ITALIANA"
On the Reverse of the Silver 10 Euro Coin are shown Marco and his family on their journey through the East to the court of Emperor Kublai Khan, taken from a composition with the details of the miniatures drawn from the "Book of Marvels of the World" by Marco Polo and Rustichello da Pisa, a work conserved at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris.
On the upper periphery is the inscription "MARCO POLO" and Chinese ideograms meaning "Marco Polo". In the centre left, the letter "R" denotes the mint mark of the Mint of Rome. On the right is mentioned the denomination of the coin "10 EURO", in exergue is mentioned the year of issue "2018".
The specifications of the coin are:
Denomination: 10 Euro; Metal Composition: .999 Fine Silver; Diameter/Size: 34.0 mm; Weight: 22.0 grams; Mint: "Mint of Rome" or the "Instituto Poligrafico e Zecca di Stato" (the State Mint) Year of issue: 2018; Designer: Silvia Petrassi.
No comments:
Post a Comment