Final answer:
Marco Polo dictated his experiences along the Silk Road to Rustichello da Pisa, who helped to document them in what became known as The Travels of Marco Polo. This collaboration resulted in a popular and influential travelogue that shaped European understanding of Asia.
Step-by-step explanation:
The co-writer of the renowned travelogue often referred to as The Travels of Marco Polo was none other than Marco Polo himself. While imprisoned in Genoa, he dictated his experiences of his journey along the Silk Road to Rustichello da Pisa, who was a writer of romances and his fellow prisoner.
The Travels of Marco Polo remains a significant historical document, offering a first-hand account of Polo's extensive travels in Asia and the court of Kublai Khan. This travelogue contains descriptions of the places Polo visited, cultures he encountered, and the various marvels along the Silk Road, including paper money, coal, and a Chinese form of pasta. It is believed that Marco Polo's stories greatly influenced other explorers, such as Christopher Columbus, who carried a copy of Polo’s travels with notes in the margins during his own voyages.
Rustichello da Pisa played a vital role by putting Polo's oral history into written form, further spreading Polo's tales across Europe and inspiring subsequent generations of explorers and readers.