"The vivid portrayals in The Travels of Marco Polo are an authentic 'journey of knowledge', in which Marco Polo depicts cities, thriving markets, different peoples, wealth, technology, and the high level of cultural refinement of a then largely unknown part of world, helped shape a lasting perception of China and the East in Europe," he said.

"His chronicles sparked widespread curiosity in medieval Western Europe toward China and the marvels of the Orient, a fascination that endured for centuries," Ambrosetti added.

Divided into six parts, the exhibition retraces the thrilling expedition of Polo and his fellow explorers along what later became known as the Silk Road through their own perspectives, presenting the stories of cultural exchange and integration that occurred along the way.

It focuses on the power of narrative, said the organizers of the exhibition.

In an era when information about distant lands was gleaned through written and oral accounts, Marco Polo's chronicles were a captivating primary source of knowledge about the East. The contents of his book were even translated into geographic and cartographic representations.

In fact, among the items on show is a series of illustrations reproduced from a 16th-century version of The Travels of Marco Polo, which turned Polo's words into images. Another notable series of drawings show the enlarged details of cities, including Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Venice, and Constantinople (now Istanbul), that appeared on the world map by Fra Mauro, a 15th-century Italian monk — most of which was based on the traveler's descriptions.

Marco Polo and travelers like him long shaped the Western perception of China and vice versa, according to Yu Xuhong, president of the China Academy of Art, where the exhibition is being held.

"For centuries, the civilizational exchanges and learning represented by Marco Polo's travels have played an irreplaceable role in advancing the modernization of society and the prosperity of the world's civilizations," he said.