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Souvenir sheet--1008

On March 15, 1996 Vatican City issued stamps and a souvenir sheet commemorating the 700th Anniversary of Marco Polo's Return from China. It is also intended to be a memento of Vatican participation in the International Philatelic Exhibition CHINA, which will take place in Beijing from May 18 to 24, 1996. 
The four stamps are horizontal, measuring 41.10 x 28 turn., and have a perforation of I 1 1/2 x 11 3/ 4. They were printed on white chalky paper in color rotogravure and issued in sheets of 20. At the left side of each stamp are the value, the words 700 ANNIVERSARIO DEL RITORNO DI MARCO POLO DALLA CINA and CITTA DEL VATICANO, as well as the Papal Crown and crossed Keys. 
The stamps feature illustrations from miniatures preserved at the Bodleian Library, Oxford: 
 300 Lire - Marco Polo receiving the golden book from the Great Khan; 
850 Lire - the Great Khan dispensing alms to the poor in the city of Cambaluc (Beijing; 
1250 Lire - Marco Polo delivering Pope Gregory X's letter to the Great Khan; 
2,500 Lire - Marco Polo in Persia, listening to the story of the three kings who went to Bethlehem to adore Jesus.
 
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<img height='325' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/1008.jpg'> 
700th Anniversary of Marco Polo's Return from China 
Souvenir Sheet, Scott 1008 (1996)</center>
 
The souvenir sheet, which measures 138 x 100 mm., features a terrestrial globe whose right hemisphere shows the route Marco Polo followed on his return to Venice (from a volume preserved in the Library of the Pontifical Lateran Library). Along the top of the sheet are the coat of arms of Vatican City, the logo of the International Philatelic Exhibition CHINA '96, and the inscription in Italian and Chinese, 700 ANNIVERSARIO DEL RITORNO DI MARCO POLO DALLA CINA. At the lower center is a 2,000 lire stamp which measures 28.56 x 39.23 mm. and has a perforation of 11 3/4. Along its borders are the above inscription, the value, and the words CITTA DEL VATICAN. It features a portrait of Marco Polo from the first printed edition of his account of his travels, IL Million; the Papal. Crown and Crossed Keys are visible at the lower left. The sheet was printed on white chalky paper in color rotogravure. Hello Courvoisier S.A. of Switzerland printed 450,000 complete series of stamps and 300,000 souvenir sheets.
 
 Marco Polo, one of the most celebrated travelers in world history, was born in Venice around 1254. In 1271 he joined his father and uncle on a journey to China. After reaching China they entered the service of the Mongol ruler Kubla Kahn; The Kahn sent Marco Polo on diplomatic missions to many parts of the Mongol Empire. In 1292 the Polos left China as part of a delegation escorting a Mongol princess to Persia; from Persia, they continued west and eventually returned to Venice. In 1298 Marco Polo was captured in a naval battle between fleets from Venice and in a battle between fleets from Venice and Genova. While in prison he wrote a detailed account of his travels in Asia. The official Vatican account of this issue notes that the Polos showed "'bravery, intelligence, curiosity, respect for other cultures, but most of all great faith and thirst for knowledge." The other series consists of stamps commemorating the anniversaries of two notable events in the history of the Church in eastern Europe. The stamps are vertical, measuring 40 x 30 nun., and have a perforation of 13 1/4 x 14. They were printed on white chalky paper in color rotogravure and issued in sheets of 20.

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