Niccolò dei Conti

Niccolò dei Conti was a Venetian merchant and traveller who left a vivid account of his voyages in southern Asia.

As a young boy, Niccolò moved to Damascus, Syria and learnt Arabic while working as a trader’s assistant. In 1414 he embarked on a trading expedition to India. First he went for Baghdad, then he headed down the Tigris River and reached Hormuz, situated near the southern end of the Persian Gulf. He proceeded to Calacatia, a trading centre on the Persian coast where he learnt the language and formed a partnership with some Persian merchants who joined him to India.

Arriving in India, Niccolò married a local woman and continued to trade, explore and travel for the next 25 years. In that period he visited most of India, Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia and most likely, China.

In 1440 Niccolò decided to return in Italy. He reached Cairo, Egypt but was forced to converse on Islam, and lost his wife and two of their children in plague. However, he succeeded to flee with the surviving children and they finally landed in Venice in 1444. By papal order he reencountered his adventures which were recorded by famous Florentine humanist, Poggio Bracciolini serving at the same time as intriguing and valuable account of southern Asia in the 15th century.