Sky and Earth: Travelling with Dante Alighieri and Marco Polo

This book combines Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy and Marco Polo's The Travels of Marco Polo to explore the geography of both earthly and celestial worlds. It is an accessible and entertaining book for high school students, scholars, and curious readers who want to know more about Dante and Marco Polo and their thirst for knowledge.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 194 pages
Publication date: 15 April 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

After Dante Alighieri's passing, spanning a remarkable seven centuries, this remarkable work weaves together the timeless voice of the great poet with that of an exceptional contemporary, Marco Polo. Both individuals shared an insatiable curiosity about the geography of both earthly and celestial realms. If Polo was hailed as the "ordinary genius" of the thirteenth century, then Alighieri, the embodiment of encyclopedic wisdom, must be recognized as the "sorcerer genius." With a profound understanding of philosophy, theology, and science, Alighieri effortlessly navigated the complexities of his era. It was within this context that he crafted the unparalleled masterpiece known as The Divine Comedy.

On the other hand, The Travels of Marco Polo stands as the pinnacle of travel literature, offering a world of wonder and delight. This captivating book brings together the unforgettable characters from both literary masterpieces, merging the darkness of infernal landscapes with the vastness of Asian deserts, the richness of the Mongol empire with the glamour of medieval philosophy, the aspirations and dreams of two great explorers tempered by their knowledge of the scientific advancements of their time, and the ever-eternal cosmology. This captivating blend of elements makes the book accessible and entertaining for high school students, scholars of scientific history and the history of ideas, as well as inquisitive readers eager to delve deeper into the lives and intellectual pursuits of Dante and Marco Polo.

This translation endeavor is a testament to the enduring power of literature and the boundless possibilities of translation. While the initial machine translation by the service DeepL.com played a crucial role, a subsequent human revision was conducted primarily to enhance the content, ensuring that the book reads stylistically distinct from a conventional translation. The result is a seamless fusion of the original Italian text with a fresh and contemporary perspective, allowing readers to appreciate the timeless wisdom and captivating narratives of Dante and Marco Polo in a fresh and engaging manner.

Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031186103
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023