Description
In the 1380s and 90s, Nicolo and Antonio Zen journeyed from Venice up the North Atlantic, encountering warrior princes, fighting savage natives and, just possibly, reaching the New World a full century before Columbus. The story of their adventure travelled throughout Europe, from the workshop of the great cartographer Mercator to the court of Elizabeth I. For centuries, the brothers were international celebrities, until, in 1835, the story was denounced as a 'tissue of lies' and the Zens faded into oblivion.
Following in their footsteps Andrea di Robilant sets out to discover the truth about the Zen voyages in a journey that takes him from the crumbling Palazzo Zen in Venice to the Orkney Islands, the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland.
Part history, part travelogue, Venetian Navigators is a charming tale of great journeys, fine detective work and faith, against the odds.
In Venetian Navigators: The Voyages of the Zen Brothers to the Far North, Andrea di Robilant - author of A Venetian Affair - investigates the story of the Zen brothers, the fourteenth-century merchant navigators whose fabled voyage to the North Atlantic made history.
About the Author
Andrea di Robilant was born in Rome in 1957. He was educated at Columbia University, where he studied history and international politics. He has worked as a journalist all his life, in Europe, the United States and Latin America. His previous books, A Venetian Affair and Lucia in the Age of Napoleon, were published to great acclaim. He lives in Rome with his wife and two sons.
Book Information
ISBN 9780571243785
Author Andrea di Robilant
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Faber & Faber
Publisher Faber & Faber
Weight(grams) 100g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 130mm * 17mm
