The riddle of Marco's Millions
Upvote:-3
In the 1865 catalog of Bernard Quaritch (one of the oldest and most respected book dealers in the world) it says that the epithet of "Il millione" (by the millions) is an idiom meant to be a mocking nickname for someone prone to exaggeration.
In his own time, many of Marco Polo's stories were regarded as outlandish and wildly exaggerated. Someone who tells stories "by the millions" means that they are making huge exaggerations.
Also, by the way, Marco Polo was born and raised in Korcula, not Venice. His family originally was from Sibenik, but by the time of his birth they were operating out of Korcula.
Upvote:4
Only a few cities were divided into sixths. The most famous, those of Venice, were and continue to be Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Marco, and Castello -- nothing resembling the name quoted, Emilione.
The spelling doesn't completely justify this theory, but one outside possibility is that the translator mistook figurative use of the adjectival form of the region's name (a "sestiere emiliano") for the actual name of a sixth. The one relatively closer to Emilia in the south of the city is Dorsoduro. Seeing the Italian text from Benedetto's edition would clear this up.
The statement is a confusing one and I would rely on other sources if possible.
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