In the center of the Old Town, to the north of St. Marks’ church, there is a house that belonged to the Polo family and which is believed to be the birthplace of the famous merchant, world traveler and itinerary writer Marco Polo.
In 1298 he was captured in a naval battle between Genoa and Venice which took place outside Korčula. He was taken to Genoa and thrown in the dungeon. There, he told stories of his travels around Asia to his cellmate Rustichelli, who wrote them down. Those writings came out as a book Il Milione, the third most translated and most read book after the Bible and the Koran. This book inspired Christopher Columbus who carried it with him on his travels to the New World.