Querini's Legacy
In this section, we collect the tangible and intangible heritage linked to the story of Pietro Querini.
The tangible heritage includes Fra Mauro's world map, which mentions Querini, and the two travel reports.
The intangible heritage embraces traditions, stories, and knowledge, such as Malvasia wine and stockfish.
Tangible Heritage
Tangible heritage is what we can see and touch: maps, documents, places, silent witnesses of the past that still speak to us today.
The Historical Sources of Pietro Querini’s Voyage
Pietro Querini’s journey is first of all documented in some manuscripts which report different versions of two original sources, each offering a unique perspective on this story. The first source is a narrative attributed to the Florentine Antonio di Matteo di Corrado de’Cardini, written in 1433. It is based on oral testimonies given by two of Querini’s crew members, Cristoforo Fioravante and Nicolò de Michiele. The original manuscript by Cardini has not been found, but a copy made by Antonio Vitturi in 1480 is preserved at the Marciana National Library in Venice (ms. It. VII 368 (7936)). The second source consists of two manuscript versions attributed directly to Pietro Querini himself. It is unclear whether these are the actual texts written by him, but both date no later than the 16th century. One is held at the Vatican Apostolic Library in Rome (ms. Vat. Lat. 5256), while the other—an incomplete version—is kept at the Marciana Library. In 1559, both texts were published together for the first time in Giovan Battista Ramusio’s Navigazioni e Viaggi. However, the versions included by Ramusio differ in various details from those preserved in the manuscripts. Whether Ramusio based his edition on the original texts or on other, now-lost versions remains unknown. As a result, scholars still debate which version—Ramusio’s or the surviving manuscripts—is closer to the lost original accounts. The historiographical debate remains open. Over the centuries, the story of Querini’s voyage has been translated and republished many times, drawing from either the original manuscripts or from Ramusio’s version. Among the translations based directly on the manuscripts, we find the 2005 modern French edition by Claire Judde de Larivière (Naufragés, Anacharsis); a 2007 Italian adaptation by Paolo Nelli (Il naufragio della Querina, Nutrimenti Mare); the 2019 literal Italian transcription by Angela Pluda (Infelice e sventurata coca Querina, Ed. Viella); and the first English translation of both manuscript versions, published by Alberto Quartapelle in 2025 (The Shipwreck of the Venetian Pietro Querino at the Lofoten Islands, in Terrae Incognitae 57:1). Translations based on Ramusio’s version begin with a 1613 German edition by Hieronymus Megiser, followed in 1625 by an English summary (limited to the Fioravante/Michiel account) by Samuel Purchas in Hakluytus Posthumus. In 1763, Gerhard Schøning produced a Norwegian version, and in 1784 Johann Reinhold Forster published a new German translation. The Italian scholar Carlo Bullo published only the Fioravante/Michiel text in 1881. A full Norwegian translation appeared again in 1908, edited by Amund Sommerfeldt. In 1980, Monica Milanesi produced a modern critical edition of Ramusio’s work based on the 1606 reprint. More recent Norwegian translations include Marie L. Aalen’s 1991 version in I paradisets første krets, a trilingual edition from 2004 (Querinis reise = Il viaggio di Querini), and its reissue in 2019 by Querinioperaens venneforening. An English translation of Ramusio’s version of both memories, prepared by Dr. Adam Greenwood with commentary by Professor Richard Holt, is forthcoming in an e-book published by our Association. The Vatican manuscript is freely accessible online at the following link: https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.lat.5256
The story of Pietro Querini has inspired numerous publications over the years.
HERE is a selection recommended reading
Historical Map
The Globe of Fra’ Mauro, dating to around 1450, is one of the most precious and renowned artefacts of the Marciana Library in Venice. Today, it is considered the most valuable cartographic testimony of a world at the end of the Middle Ages and is often regarded as the final map to represent the medieval worldview before the dawn of the Modern Age.
This extraordinary map, now also available in digital format thanks to the Museo Galileo in Florence, offers an interactive journey through a world shaped by travel, faith, and discovery. One unique feature is its orientation: the map is rotated 180°, with the South at the top and the North at the bottom.
At the heart of Norway, Fra Mauro marked the shipwreck of Pietro Querini, who, upon returning to Venice in 1433, submitted a detailed report to the Senate. His writings offered one of the earliest cultural and geographical descriptions of the Arctic, influencing Fra Mauro’s depiction of the vast northern territories like Grolandia, Islant, Fillandia, and Permia, extending even beyond the North Pole.
Querini’s experience helped Fra Mauro imagine an immense world of ice, bridging medieval belief with new geographic insight.
For an immersive experience, visit the Marciana Library in Piazza San Marco, Venice.
Intangible Heritage
Intangible heritage includes the traditions, knowledge, languages, practices, and expressions that are passed down through generations and help shape the identity and culture of communities.
It’s the soul of a culture, passed from generation to generation, connecting us through memory, meaning, and emotion.
UNESCO defines intangible cultural heritage (ICH) as the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills – and associated objects and spaces – that communities, groups, and individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.
Stockfish
Stockfish is much more than a food product: it is a symbol of resilience, ingenuity and cultural connection across Europe.
Pietro Querini's report offers the first detailed account of this method of preserving fish, dried naturally by Arctic winds in the Lofoten Islands.
Its traditional production method, unchanged for centuries, highlights the deep connection between nature and human creativity.
Today, stockfish remains a tangible testimony to Europe's ability to unite in diversity, preserving ancient knowledge while promoting a sense of common identity.
Within the Via Querinissima, stockfish represents both a tangible heritage and an intangible cultural legacy, linking landscapes, communities and traditions from Norway to Italy, Portugal, Greece and Spain.
Malvasia
The origins of Malvasia wine date back to ancient Greece, specifically to the region of Monemvasia in the Peloponnese.
This wine, known for its sweet and aromatic flavour, was produced from local grape varieties that were perfectly adapted to the climate and soil of the area.
During the Middle Ages, the production of Malvasia spread widely thanks to Venetian merchants, who appreciated its quality and imported it to their lands. During Venetian rule on the island of Crete, Candia, present-day Heraklion, became one of the main centres of production of the prized Malvasia. It is no coincidence that Pietro Querini set off on his journey to Flanders with a cargo of this renowned wine.
In this context, the collaboration with Iter Vitis - the Vine Route on the subject of Malvasia is particularly significant.
Together, Iter Vitis and Via Querinissima work to enhance Malvasia as a European cultural heritage, promoting wine tourism itineraries, events and initiatives that combine history, identity and sustainable tourism.
Citizen, engagement and local traditions
The storytelling of EU identity is often tied to the events of the last century, particularly focusing on political and economic processes. This makes it difficult to explain the basis of EU heritage especially to the common citizens and to create a sense of European identity.
One of the goal of VQ t is to raise awareness of this intangible heritage by starting with people’s shared stories with historical pilgrimages, traditions and remembrances, representing experiences that have in common the heritage connected to Pietro Querini. These experiences are deeply rooted in local communities from the core of this shared heritage.
Starting from elements that are still part of local tradition, VQ aims to make citizens understand how the European Union - which is often intended as a separate entity - is instead something that stems from common principles and values.