Venetian Navigators: The Mystery of the Voyages of the Zen Brothers - Couverture souple

'It is a gripping traveller's tale of outlandishly beautiful coasts, brave adventurers, intrepid fishermen and lone scholars. Along the way he meets some wonderful characters who could have come out of the old sagas themselves ... The historical personages his narrative touches on are no less fascinating.' -- Suzi Feay, Independent on Sunday

'Venetian Navigators presents an intricate and absorbing perspective on a huge swathe of history.' Time Out Book of the Week

'In this hybrid of travelogue and history, di Robilant muses on questions of Venetian cartography and navigation as he follows in the brothers' footsteps ... The result is an absorbing work that vividly recreates post-medieval Venice as a glittering mercantile outpost of the Adriatic ... this is a diverting and delightful book, with numerous Renaissance-era nautical maps to amuse us along the way.' --Ian Thomson, Independent

'A seasoned and sympathetic traveller [di Roilant] is deft at describing landscapes and the people he meets. Into his enjoyable travelogue he skilfully weaves the fruits of his researches in libraries and archives.' --Times Literary Supplement

'Di Robilant encounters much scepticism as he retraces the Zens' route, but, thanks to the absorbing and vivid case he makes, we're inclined to believe in the veracity of the 14th-century Venetian explorers.' --Irish Times

'Di Robilant encounters much scepticism as he retraces the Zens' route, but, thanks to the absorbing and vivid case he makes, we're inclined to believe in the veracity of the 14th-century Venetian explorers.' --Irish Times

In the 1380s and 90s, Nicolò 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.