Editing Marco Polo (section)

=== Cartography ===
Marco Polo's travels may have had some influence on the development of European [[cartography]], ultimately leading to the [[Age of Discovery|European voyages of exploration]] a century later.<ref name="Falchetta">{{Harvnb|Falchetta|2006|p=592}}</ref> The 1453 [[Fra Mauro map]] was said by [[Giovanni Battista Ramusio]] (disputed by historian/cartographer Piero Falchetta, in whose work the quote appears) to have been partially based on the one brought from [[Cathay]] by Marco Polo: {{Blockquote|That fine illuminated world map on parchment, which can still be seen in a large cabinet alongside the choir of their monastery [the Camaldolese monastery of San Michele di Murano] was by one of the brothers of the monastery, who took great delight in the study of cosmography, diligently drawn and copied from a most beautiful and very old nautical map and a world map that had been brought from Cathay by the most honourable Messer Marco Polo and his father.|[[Giovanni Battista Ramusio]]<ref name="Falchetta" />|title=|source=}}

Though Marco Polo never produced a map that illustrated his journey, his family drew several maps of the Far East based on the traveller's accounts. These collections of maps were signed by Polo's three daughters, Fantina, Bellela and Moreta.<ref name="History3">{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/news/did-marco-polo-visit-alaska|title=Did Marco Polo Visit Alaska? |last=Klein|first=Christopher|publisher=History |date=30 September 2014 }}</ref> The authenticity of these maps is uncertain. Benjamin B. Olshin a historian who wrote for the [[University of Chicago Press]] has been unable to "establish the authenticity" of these maps once owned by Marcian Rossi, an Italian immigrant living in California during the 1930s known for peddaling [[Hoax|hoaxes]]. These maps have been compared to the [[Voyage of the Zeno brothers|Zeno Map]] hoax. However Olshin made no mention on the improbability they are real.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Did Marco Polo Explore Alaska? A Review of Benjamin B. Olshin's "The Mysteries of the Marco Polo Maps" (2014) |url=https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/did-marco-polo-explore-alaska-a-review-of-benjamin-b-olshins-the-mysteries-of-marco-polos-maps-2014 |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=JASON COLAVITO |language=en}}</ref> According to the [[United Kingdom|U.K]]. [[news]] outlet [[The Telegraph (London)|The Telegraph]], a [[Carbon-14|radiocarbon]] study of the sheepskin the maps are made of date back to the 15th or 16th century strongly suggesting they are copies of the original maps.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-09-26 |title=Did Marco Polo discover America in 13th century? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11124102/Did-Marco-Polo-discover-America-in-13th-century.html#:~:text=According%20to%20Smithsonian%20magazine,%20a,middle%20of%20the%2013th%20century. |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=The Telegraph |language=en}}</ref>