Book of Marco Polo

From the Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
Book of Marco Polo
Book of Marco Polo in the SNES release of Mario's Time Machine Book of Marco Polo in the PC release of Mario's Time Machine
SNES (left) and PC (right)
First appearance Mario's Time Machine (1993)

The Book of Marco Polo is an item in the SNES and PC releases of Mario's Time Machine. At the time of the game's events (1292, as Mario has traveled back in time), the game claims that Marco Polo was recording the details of his journey and what he witnessed, and that it is specifically titled "The Book of Marco Polo". Mario receives its first few pages from a salesman in Cambuluc, who received it from Marco Polo while trading instead of any actual money. Mario can then bring it to a nearby sage who asks for Marco's notes. Once the sage has the notes, he describes its contents, including how Marco Polo has traveled to many locations between Italy and here. However, in reality, no such book titled "The Book of Marco Polo" exists: while there is a journal of Marco Polo's travels, it was titled Book of the Marvels of the World, also known as The Travels of Marco Polo. It was also written by Rustichello da Pisa, an author who noted the stories told by Marco Polo while they were in prison.