Italo Calvino, regarded by many as the greatest master of Italian fiction in this century, first published this work in 1972 as Le citta invisibili. A tale mixing fantasy, reality, and philosophy, it recounts a long conversation between a young Marco Polo and an aging Kublai Khan. The book was lauded by Gore Vidal as more than a novel, more like a "meditation or poem" and "perhaps his [Calvino's] most beautiful work". William Weaver, who translated it from the Italian into English, considers that among his translations, "it is the one I reread with the most pleasure".

The artist Wayne Thiebaud contributed 12 drawings, with the idea that the images of cities and objects remain invisible until the reader takes action. To realize this concept, Andrew Hoyem designed the book with the drawings printed on clear plastic in different colors of inks, each matching the color of the following sheet. The images are revealed only when the transparent sheet is turned back onto the preceding page, a white sheet with printed text. Thiebaud also made an etching, entitled "Souvenirs of Cities", based on a drawing of abandoned objects, which can be purchased along with the book.