Pietro Querini's Story
On April 25, 1431, Pietro Querini, a Venetian nobleman and merchant, 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.
The goal was to reach Flanders, one of Europe’s main commercial hubs.
Querini and his crew of 68 men, including Cristofalo Fioravanti and Nicolò de Michiel, had a dramatic experience.
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​Start the journey and discover this story that connected Europe from south to north between 1431 and 1433.
The story of Querina Vol 1. Artwork by Franco Fortunato, exhibition "The story of Querina"
Pietro Querini's Journey
The first part of the journey was fraught with numerous setbacks. On June 2nd, 1431, the rudder broke, forcing the Gemma Querina to stop in Cadiz, Spain, for repairs. After an extended stay, the ship resumed its journey on July 14th, but adverse winds drove it toward the Canary Islands and then to Lisbon, where it arrived on August 29th. There, the ship needed further repairs to strengthen its structure and replenish supplies.
The ship set sail again on September 14th, but new difficulties arose: worsening weather conditions led them to the port of Muros on October 26th. Before resuming the journey, Pietro Querini decided to make a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, accompanied by some crew members.
The Shipwreck and Struggle for Survival
On November 5th, 1431, the Gemma Querina departed once more, but violent storms drove the vessel beyond Cape Finisterre, off the Irish coast. The relentless winds pushed the ship toward the Scilly Islands. Facing extreme conditions, Querini decided to lower two lifeboats: the Schiffo, with 21 sailors, and the Fusta, carrying 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.
The situation on the Fusta was dire: the rudder broke, leaving the crew at the mercy of the waves and intense cold, which eventually carried them beyond the Arctic Circle. Of the 47 men, 26 succumbed to hypothermia or died after drinking saltwater in a desperate attempt to quench their thirst.
Salvation in the Lofoten Islands
On January 4th, 1432, the survivors spotted land. On January 6th, they finally reached Sandøya, one of Norway’s Lofoten Islands, where they took shelter among the remains of their boat and survived by eating snow, snails, and limpets. The challenges persisted, as the harsh cold and scarcity of food made their situation desperate.
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After eleven days, fortune shifted when Querini’s loyal servant discovered an abandoned hut and signs of human life nearby. In February, a Norwegian fisherman and his two sons, who had come to Sandøya to check on livestock, found the castaways and took them to Røst, a small fishing village.
Life in Røst and the Discovery of Stockfish
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 locals’ customs, and way of life. It was here that he encountered stockfish for the first time—a fish dried in the wind and sun without the use of salt, which was a crucial resource for the locals’ survival.
The Return Home
After spending one hundred days in Røst, the crew decided to return to Venice. On May 14th, 1432, they departed on a ship bound for Bergen, carrying sixty stockfish given to them by their hosts. The journey continued with several stops: on May 29th, they reached Trondheim, where they paid homage to the relics of Saint Olaf, and then traveled across Sweden, arriving at the Vadstena Abbey to visit the relics of Saint Bridget.
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In Gothenburg, the crew split up: some, including Cristofalo Fioravanti e Nicolò de Michiel, embarked for Rostock, Germany, while others, including Querini, headed to England. Querini arrived in King’s Lynn on September 22nd, 1432, and from there proceeded to London, where he was hosted by Venetian merchants. From London, he continued his journey through Flanders and Switzerland, finally reaching Venice on January 25th, 1433.
Conclusion
Pietro Querini’s journey was not only an extraordinary adventure but also marked the beginning of a cultural and gastronomic exchange between Northern Europe and Italy. His report, presented to the Doge of Venice, offers a detailed account of human suffering and resilience, as well as valuable insights into the customs and practices of the Nordic populations in the 15th century.
The information was taken from: Liuzza, Marzia. 2018. Il grande viaggio di Pietro Querini: una ricerca tra storia e cultura. Dissertation, IULM University.
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There are two separate reports of that extraordinary adventure, one by Pietro Querini, kept in two manuscript copies in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana and the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice, the other by the two surviving ship’s officers Cristoforo Fioravanti and Nicolò di Michiel, kept in the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice, collected and written by the Florentine humanist Antonio di Corrado de Cardini.
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Interesting echoes of Querini’s epic are also evident in the nautical charts of the time, such as in Andrea Bianco’s Atlas, 1436, which indicates ‘stocfis‘ in the Lofoten area, and in the famous world map by Fra’ Mauro (1457-1459), who writes: ‘Questa provincia di Norvegia scorse misier Piero Querino come e noto‘, en: “This province of Norway there was Piero Querino as and known’
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[…] In my prayers, I asked the Lord for the grace to return home healthy, and to find in good health my loved ones. And so it happened.
Let us therefore praise and glory to our Lord in sechula sechulorum. Amen.”
For the quotes: Il naufragio della Querina by Paolo Nelli
