Database: Caravan Travel

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Travel in the Renaissance was not the disgusting ordeal it is today. Instead, it was merely terrifying. The countryside was filled with bandits, causing most travellers to move in armed groups called caravans. Anxious voyagers usually sewed valuables and gold into the soles of their shoes or the lining of their jackets.

Guides called Vetturini were sometimes hired to help plot the route of the caravans and book rooms at local inns, but those carriers were often working with the bandits, just like travel agents today.