Episode 2
The author's search for evidence to prove the truth behind the fabled 14th century voyages of two Venetian merchants takes him to the Faroe Islands. The reader is Sam Dale.
By Andrea di Robilant.
Read by Sam Dale.
In the fourteenth century, so the story goes, two merchant brothers set out from Venice on a journey through the rough seas of the North Atlantic, encountering warrior princes, fighting savage natives and, just possibly, reaching the New World a full century before Columbus.
Their adventures - printed as a small book and beautifully detailed map in 1558 by an enthusiastic ancestor - were celebrated throughout Europe until, in 1835, the story was denounced as a 'tissue of lies' and the Zens faded into oblivion.
Intrigued by the myth, the writer Andrea di Robilant set out on a personal quest to see what traces remain of these fabled voyages. In this episode, he arrives in the Faroe Islands: a scattering of volcanic islands half-way between Shetland and Iceland where echoes of its vibrant past as a busy maritime hub still resonate.
Abridged by Laurence Wareing.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
Last on
Broadcasts
- Tue 29 Mar 2011 09:45麻豆社 Radio 4 FM
- Wed 30 Mar 2011 00:30麻豆社 Radio 4
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