Του δρ. Benjamin B Olshin
Τον 13ο αιώνα, ο Ιταλός (μάλλον κροατικής καταγωγής) έμπορος
και εξερευνητής Μάρκο Πόλο εταξείδψε από την Βενετία στις άκρες της Ασίας. Ένα
ταξείδι που κατέγραψε σε μια αφήγηση με τίτλο «Il Milione», αργότερα γνωστή ως «Τα
Ταξίδια του Μάρκο Πόλο».
Ενώ τα γραπτά του Polo θα
συνέχιζαν να εμπνέουν τους ομοίους του, όπως τον (ελληνικής καταγωγής)
Χριστόφορο Κολόμβο / Christopher Columbus, οι μελετητές έχουν ξεκινήσει συζήτηση
εδώ και καιρό για την αλήθεια τους…
Κάποιοι ισχυρίστηκαν ότι ο
Πόλο δεν έφθασε ποτέ στην Κίνα…
Ενώ άλλοι πιστεύουν ότι έφτασε
μέχρι την Αμερική…
Marco Polo And The Mysterious Maps
with Dr Benjamin B Olshin (*)
In the 13th century, Italian merchant and explorer Marco Polo travelled
from Venice to the far reaches of Asia, a journey he chronicled in a narrative
titled Il Milione, later known as The Travels of Marco Polo. While Polo’s
writings would go on to inspire the likes of Christopher Columbus, scholars
have long debated their veracity. Some have argued that Polo never even reached
China, while others believe that he came as far as the Americas. Now, there is
another piece of this puzzle: a very curious collection of fourteen little-known
maps and related documents said to have belonged to the family of Marco Polo
himself.
Historian of cartography Benjamin B. Olshin presents these artifacts,
charting their course from obscure origins in the private collection of
Italian-American immigrant Marcian Rossi in the 1930s; to investigations of
their authenticity by the Library of Congress, J. Edgar Hoover, and the FBI; to
the work of the late cartographic scholar Leo Bagrow; to Olshin’s own efforts
to track down and study the Rossi maps, all but one of which are in the
possession of Rossi’s great-grandson.
Are the maps forgeries, facsimiles, or modernized copies? Did Marco
Polo’s daughters―whose names appear on several of the artifacts―preserve in
them geographic information about Asia first recorded by their father? Or did
they inherit maps created by him? Or, if the maps have no connection to Marco
Polo, who made them, when, and why?
Now, there’s new evidence for this historical puzzle: a very curious
collection of fourteen little-known maps and related documents said to have
belonged to the family of Marco Polo himself.
In The Mysteries of the Marco Polo Maps, historian of cartography
Benjamin B. Olshin offers the first credible book-length analysis of these
artifacts, charting their course from obscure origins in the private collection
of Italian-American immigrant Marcian Rossi in the 1930s; to investigations of
their authenticity by the Library of Congress, J. Edgar Hoover, and the FBI; to
the work of the late cartographic scholar Leo Bagrow; to Olshin’s own efforts
to track down and study the Rossi maps, all but one of which are in the
possession of Rossi’s great-grandson Jeffrey Pendergraft. Are the maps
forgeries, facsimiles, or modernized copies? Did Marco Polo’s daughters—whose
names appear on several of the artifacts—preserve in them geographic
information about Asia first recorded by their father? Or did they inherit maps
created by him? Did Marco Polo entrust the maps to Admiral Ruggero Sanseverino,
who has links to Rossi’s family line? Or, if the maps have no connection to
Marco Polo, who made them, when, and why?
Regardless of the maps’ provenance, Olshin’s tale—stretching from the
remote reaches of the northern Pacific to early Chinese legends—takes readers
on a journey confounding yet fascinating, offering insights into Italian
history, the age of exploration, and the wonders of cartography.
ΠΕΡΙΕΧΟΜΕΝΑ του βιβλίου του:
Introduction
1 The “Marco Polo Maps” and the Polo Family
2 Who Was “Biaxio Sirdomap”?
3 To the Distant East
4 The Daughters’ Maps
5 Chronicles and Histories
6 Maps of the New World
7 Conclusions and Future Directions
Acknowledgments
Appendix 1: An Inventory of the Documents
Appendix 2: A Partial Genealogy of the Rossi Family
Appendix 3: Genealogy of the Family of Marco Polo the Traveller
Notes
Bibliography
Index
(*) Dr Benjamin B Olshin is a former Professor of Philosophy, the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, and Design at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He is a Fulbright scholar with over a decade of experience in international consulting, research, education/training, and design work in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Dr. Olshin has published and presented work in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, Taiwan, Japan, and Indonesia. Over the course of his career, his research and other work has taken on many subjects, including maps and exploration, the history of technology, the philosophy of physics, and communication across cultures. He has written in a broad range of areas, including the history of cartography, the philosophy of science, and sociology of technology, and design. His latest book is Lost Knowledge: The Concept of Vanished Technologies and Other Human Histories. His other books are Deciphering Reality: Simulations, Tests, and Designs, and The Mysteries of the Marco Polo Maps.
ΠΗΓΗ: BENJAMIN B. OLSHIN «The Mysteries of the Marco Polo Maps», εκδ. Univ. Chicago Press. ΑΡΧΕΙΟΝ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΥ, 10.2.2021.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΟ webinar «Marco Polo And The Mysterious Maps», στις 20.2.2021, 1:00 pm EST.
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