It made sense that Venice would produce a world traveler. Its nickname was “Queen of the Adriatic,” because its port was so important in that sea. It also had strong trading ties to its eastern neighbors.
It had a thriving merchant class. This included Marco’s father and two uncles. Venetian merchants traveled east all the time. They brought back silk, dyes, furs, pepper, ginger, cotton, peacock feathers, timber and even enslaved people to sell to the rest of Europe. Venetian merchants were always on the go.
