Via Querinissima
Pietro Querini set sail from Candia (modern-day Crete) aboard the Gemma Querina, loaded with valuable goods such as Malvasia wine, olive oil, raisins, cotton, and other precious items bound for Flanders.
La Vía Querinissima
The story of Pietro Querini: A maritime bridge between northern and southern
Europe:
On April 25, 1431, Pietro Querini, a Venetian nobleman and merchant, departed from Crete
aboard the Gemma Querina, loaded with high-value goods, with the goal of reaching
Flanders, the main commercial hub in Europe at the time.
The first part of this journey was filled with misfortunes. On June 2, 1431, the rudder of the
Gemma Querina broke, forcing a stop in Andalusian lands for repairs. On July 14, the ship
resumed its voyage, but ocean storms pushed it toward the Canary Islands and later to
Lisbon, where they stopped to reinforce the ship’s structure.
The Gemma Querina set sail again on September 14, but worsening weather conditions
forced yet another change in course, reaching the port of Muros on October 26. Once there,
Pietro Querini decided to make a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, accompanied by
some of his crew members.
The shipwreck and the struggle for survival
On November 5, 1431, the Gemma Querina returned to sea en route to Flanders, but strong
storms drove the ship far beyond Cape Finisterre, eventually ending up near the Scilly
Islands.
The rudder broke definitively, leaving the crew at the mercy of the waves and intense cold,
which eventually carried them beyond the Arctic Circle. Faced with extreme conditions,
Querini decided to lower two lifeboats: the Schiffo, with 21 sailors, and the Fusta, which
carried the remaining 47 men, including Querini himself. During the night, the two boats lost
contact, and it was later discovered that all the sailors aboard the Schiffo had perished.
Of the 47 men aboard the Fusta, 26 succumbed to freezing or died after drinking salt water
in a desperate attempt to quench their thirst.
Salvation in the Lofoten Islands
On January 4, 1432, the survivors sighted land. On January 6, they finally reached Sandøya, one of the Lofoten Islands in Norway, where they took shelter among the remains of their boat and survived by eating snow, snails, and limpets. The challenges continued, as
the harsh cold and scarcity of food made their situation desperate.
After eleven days, fortune changed when a sailor discovered an abandoned cabin and signs of human life nearby. In February, a Norwegian fisherman and his two sons, who had come to Sandøya to tend livestock, found the shipwrecked men and took them to Røst, a small fishing village.
Life in Røst and the discovery of dried cod
The community of Røst welcomed the survivors with great hospitality, providing them with food, shelter, and care. Pietro Querini gave a detailed description of the village, the customs,
and the lifestyle of the locals. It was here that he encountered codfish for the first time—a fish dried by wind and sun without the use of salt—which was a crucial resource for the
natives’ survival.
The return home
On May 14, 1432, they departed on a ship bound for Bergen, carrying sixty codfish gifted by their hosts. In Gothenburg, the crew separated: some, including Cristofalo Fioravanti and Nicolò de Michiel, embarked for Rostock, Germany, while others, including Querini, headed to England.
Querini arrived in King’s Lynn on September 22, 1432, and from there went to London,
where he was finally received by Venetian merchants. From London, he continued his
journey through Flanders and Switzerland, finally reaching Venice on January 25, 1433.
This route holds great historical value since Pietro Querini produced a series of detailed reports with valuable insights into the customs and practices of Nordic populations in the 15th century.
Historical value of the Querinissima
Pietro Querini’s journey was not only an extraordinary adventure but also marked the
beginning of cultural and gastronomic exchange between Northern Europe and the
Mediterranean. His report, presented to the Doge of Venice, offers a detailed account of
human suffering and endurance, as well as valuable knowledge about the customs and
practices of Nordic populations in the 15th century.
There are two different diaries of this extraordinary adventure: one by Pietro Querini,
preserved in two manuscript copies in the Vatican Apostolic Library and the Biblioteca
Marciana in Venice, and another by the two surviving officers Cristoforo Fioravanti and
Nicolò di Michiel, preserved in the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice, compiled and written by the Florentine humanist Antonio di Corrado de Cardini.
Interesting echoes of Querini’s epic are also seen in the nautical charts of the time, such as in Andrea Bianco’s 1436 Atlas, which marks “stocfis” in the Lofoten area, and in the famous world map by Fra Mauro (1457–1459). The information was taken from: Liuzza, Marzia. 2018. Il grande viaggio di Pietro Querini: una ricerca tra storia e cultura. Dissertation, IULM University.
Vía Querinissima: From myth to history
Vía Querinissima is today a route that emulates the path of Pietro Querini’s adventure by
sea and land to promote conscious and sustainable cultural and food-and-wine tourism.
Among its immediate goals is obtaining certification from the Council of Europe as a
European Cultural Route in 2025.
The Vía Querinissima intersects with many routes already recognized by the Council of
Europe, and is also the first itinerary with a maritime route.
Obtaining certification as a “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” is a guarantee of
excellence. The networks carry out activities and innovative projects within five priority areas
of action: cooperation in research and development; enhancement of memory, history, and
European heritage; cultural and educational exchanges for young Europeans; contemporary
artistic and cultural practices; cultural tourism and sustainable cultural development.
Members of Via Querinissima
A connection between the pilgrimage, the Ría de Muros Noia, and the Vía Querinissima
The Ría de Muros Noia has historically been a maritime gateway for pilgrims to Compostela.
This role is reinforced by the Vía Querinissima, the voyage of the Venetian Pietro Querini,
who, after being shipwrecked in Galicia, undertook the Camino. Today, this route symbolizes
the connection between northern and southern Europe and represents a model of cultural
and sustainable tourism.
