[In 1881, the year of the Venice International Geographical Congress, a Tablet was put up on the Theatre with the following inscription:—­

QVI FURONO LE CASE
DI
MARCO POLO
CHE VIAGGIO LE PIU LONTANE REGIONI DELL’ ASIA
E LE DESCRISSE

PER DECRETO DEL COMUNE
MDCCCLXXXI].

There is still to be seen on the north side of the Court an arched doorway in Italo-Byzantine style, richly sculptured with scrolls, disks, and symbolical animals, and on the wall above the doorway is a cross similarly ornamented.[4] The style and the decorations are those which were usual in Venice in the 13th century.  The arch opens into a passage from which a similar doorway at the other end, also retaining some scantier relics of decoration, leads to the entrance of the Malibran Theatre.  Over the archway in the Corte Sabbionera the building rises into a kind of tower.  This, as well as the sculptured arches and cross, Signor Casoni, who gave a good deal of consideration to the subject, believed to be a relic of the old Polo House.  But the tower (which Pauthier’s view does show) is now entirely modernized.[5]

[Illustration:  The site of the CA’ POLO.  Fig.  A. From the Diner Map A. D. 1500.  Fig.  B. From Map by Ludovico Ughi A.D. 1729 Scale 1 to 2500.  Fig.  C. From Recent Map.  Scale 1 to 1315.]

Other remains of Byzantine sculpture, which are probably fragments of the decoration of the same mansion, are found imbedded in the walls of neighbouring houses.[6] It is impossible to determine anything further as to the form or extent of the house of the time of the Polos, but some slight idea of its appearance about the year 1500 may be seen in the extract (fig.  A) which we give from the famous pictorial map of Venice attributed erroneously to Albert Duerer.  The state of the buildings in the last century is shown in (fig.  B) an extract from the fine Map of Ughi; and their present condition in one (fig.  C) reduced from the Modern Official Map of the Municipality.

[Coming from the Church of S. G. Grisostomo to enter the calle del Teatro on the left and the passage (Sottoportico) leading to the Corte del Milione, one has in front of him a building with a door of the epoch of the Renaissance; it was the office of the provveditori of silk; on the architrave are engraved the words: 

    PROVISORES SERICI

and below, above the door, is the Tablet which] in the year 1827 the Abate Zenier caused to be put up with this inscription:—­

AEDES PROXIMA THALIAE CVLTVI MODO ADDICTA
MARCI POLO P. V. ITINERVM FAMA PRAECLARI
          JAM HABITATIO FVIT.

[Illustration:  Entrance to the Corte del Milione Venice]

[Sidenote:  Recent corroboration as to the traditional site of the Casa Polo.]