The Mediterranean : the route of pilgrims for Jerusalem in the late middle ages

In the 14th and 15,h centuries, by far most pilgrims arrived in the Holy Land by sea. The choice of this route was encouraged by the existence of a well organized and efficiently operated system offering pilgrims a regular and comparatively safe passage to the East. Another argument in favor of this way of pilgrimage was the possibility, open from the latter half of the 14lh century, to purchase in Venice an entire package including, in addition to the voyage, also the stay in the Holy Land under the tutelage of qualified guides. En route on board their galleys, pilgrims enjoyed the advantage of admiring the scenery of much of the Mediterranean coastline. Given the benefit of such sightseeing voyages, many Europeans living north of the Alps could, like the German Felix Faber, think of the Mediterranean as "Mare Nostrum".