Marco Polo

"Ich habe nicht die Hälfte von dem erzählt, was ich gesehen habe, weil keiner mir geglaubt hätte."

"Non ho scritto neppure la metà delle cose che ho visto."

"Io parlo parlo ... ma chi m'ascolta ritiene solo le parole che aspetta. ... Chi comanda al racconto non è la voce: è l'orecchio."

"When Marco Polo traveled to the East and reported what he had seen, mixing truth with falsehood but in any event telling something of the truth, the men of the West refused to believe him. In the late Medieval Ages his account of his travels was viewed as a book of fables... It was as if occidentals were unable to believe in the reality of the marvels of the Orient."