Adriatic sailing routes as reported in the 14th and 15th century pilgrims and travel reports
Part of : Balkan studies : biannual publication of the Institute for Balkan Studies ; Vol.41, No.1-2, 2000, pages 5-25
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5-25
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Modalities of sailing over the Adriatic have not been dealt with much inpublications so far. This is particularly true of sailing routes at the turn of theMiddle Ages to the modern world. The historical source of this paper is oneFrench and four English pilgrims and travel reports from the 14th and 15thcentury. The analysis of their Adriatic itinerary has shown that they mostlyused the shipping the final destination of which was somewhere in the Mediterranean,so they sailed across the Adriatic under the regime of long coastalnavigation. They would set out from Venice, sail to the Northern Istrian Coast(Novigrad, Porec, Rovinj or Pula), and then along the Eastern Adriatic up tothe island of Corfu. On their way back they would sail by the same route. Thejustification for these routes is not given in historical sources under researchbut it can be found in the results of scientific hydrographic researches at thebeginning of the 19th c. (C. F. Beautemps-Beaupré) and the first Adriatic pilotfrom 1830 (G. Marieni), which summarizes centuries long navigation experiences.It comes out that voyages were more frequent along the EasternAdriatic due to the protection reasons, primarily against bora, since this partof Adriatic provides much more shelters. Navigation along the Western Adriaticis recommended only in summer, in nice weather. Similar sails in other periods are still to be investigated, with the use of similar methodology.
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Αδριατική Θάλασσα
