The curious case of Marco Polo from Korčula: An example of invented tradition

•Marco Polo is an important symbol of both Korčula town and Korčula Island.•Marco Polo’s supposed Korčulan origin was analyzed as a kind of invented tradition.•Advocacy, Suspicious and Instrumentalist approaches of the interviewees are discussed.•Branding from bellow for Korčula Island proved to be efficient in tourist marketing.

In this paper the author deals with the claiming of Korčulan identity for Marco Polo as an invented tradition. According to some, the combination of Korčulan archive data, Korčulan family names and some historical facts give the island’s inhabitants the opportunity to question Marco Polo’s “Venetian origin” and attempt to claim that he or his family originated on the island. The author analyzes the attitudes and opinions of local residents concerning the issue and discusses it in the framework of the concept of invented tradition. The contemporary use of Marco Polo name as a symbol for Korčula Island reveals its great potential for tourism.