BATTLE IN WHICH MARCO POLO WAS CAPTURED RE-ENACTED ON KORCULA

( Editorial: --> 8783 ) ZAGREB, Sept 8 (Hina) - It has not been fully proven so far that Marco Polo was born on Korcula, a Croatian island in the southern Adriatic Sea, but locals have not been deterred in believing the legendary adventurer and travel writer had set off from their island to discover the Far East and China. Historical records only mention Korcula as the location of a naval battle between Genoa and Venice which took place 700 years ago. On Monday the enterprising residents of the island commemorated the anniversary of that battle of September 7, 1298 by staging a partial re-enactment for locals and numerous tourists. In the reconstructed battle, the two former maritime republics fought to conquer Korcula, at the time an important maritime area. Genoa won and Polo was captured. In prison he bided the time by telling a friend about his adventures. This friend wrote them down, thus giving birth to "The Book of the Wonders of the World", later known as "The Million". Since the 14th century, this Polo travelogue was used as a basis for maps of Asia. Domestic and foreign TV crews filmed a cannon battle between tourist ships, which was re-enacted through the help of hired pyrotechnics. About 200 members of Korcula's knights' associations in period costumes took part in the staged battle. The performance also showed the apprehension of Marco Polo. The assumption that Polo was born on Korcula is based on a document dating from the 15th century, which says that the Polo family was from Dalmatia, a coastal region in southern Croatia. The residents of Korcula believe the house Polo was born in is in the town of Korcula, and there are plans to reconstruct it. (hina) ha jn /mbr 081343 MET sep 98