Browse Items (13 total)

Viaggio de M. Cesare dei Federici nell'India Oreintale

Ceasare de'Federici was a jeweler/merchant/traveler who spent much of his life in southeast Asia in search of gemstones to be sent to his home in the…

Viaggio dell'Indie Orientale di Gasparo Balbi, Gioielliero Venetiano

Balbi's first hand account of his travels to southeast Asia in search of gemstones. This includes a particularly in depth description of his time in…

Groundplan of Fort Colombo

The Portuguese arrived in Colombo - on the island of Sri Lanka - in the early 16th century. One of their first activities was to build a…

Othello's Castle

Othello's castle overlooks the Mediterranean Ocean. It is situated at the eastern most point of the island of Cyprus, in the city of Famagusta. …

Rue Dirieta, Goa

It comes as little surprise that Balbi spent a good deal of time in the Portuguese colony, including the activities that took place daily on the Rua…

Basrah: The Venice of Iraq

This postcard, printed in the late 1950s, emphasizes the strong visual relationship between Basrah and Venice. Basra is located approximately 65…

View of Aleppo

This image of Aleppo appears in the Travel Journal of Ambrosio Bembo. Like Balbi, Bembo too traveled throughout the Middle East and enlisted the…

The Tiger Cave, Elephanta Caves

Balbi visited the Elephanta Caves in 15XX and recorded a lengthy history of the site, linking it specifically with Alexander the Great. In fact, this…

View of Cannanore on the Malabar Coast

This oil on linen painting depicts the port of Cannanore (Kannur) shortly after the Dutch gained control of the region from the Portuguese in 1663. …

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Van Heemskerck's pen and brown ink drawing offers one of many reconstructive illustrations of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Van Heemsckerk's image…