Pietro della Valle

Timeline

1. 1614–1626Constantinople · Marmara RegionDeparting from Rome via Venice, he reached the Ottoman Empire, traveling through Anatolia, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia, and penetrating as far as Goa and the Malabar Coast of India. Along the way he described local customs, religious rites, antiquities, and political conditions in letters to friends, and collected coins, manuscripts, and other artifacts.
2. 1627–1652Rome · LazioAfter returning home in 1627 he settled in Rome, editing and publishing his travel letters in volumes, which became an important document of European Oriental studies. In the 1640s he continued to supplement and revise them, exchanging knowledge of the East with contemporary scholars. His accounts had a profound influence on Europe's understanding of the Safavid Persian court and Indian religious culture.