Brief Biography: Born in 1427 in Milan, Italy, Casola played a prominent role in the Catholic Church until his death at the age of eighty on November 6, 1507. From a family listed among the nobles of Milan, he spent his early years in the church at Milan, then served sixteen years as secretary attached to the Milanese Embassy in Rome before returning to Milan in 1478 where he became the senior of the cardinal deacons. In 1494 at the age of sixty-five, he made his pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Brief Itinerary: On May 15, 1494, two years after Columbus sighted the Americas, Casola left Milan going overland to Venice. From there he took a galley which made frequent stops as it crossed the Adriatic and Mediterranean to the port at Jaffa located in Palestine. Among the places his galley docked were Reusa, Modone, and Crete. From there he took a mule to Jeruslaem which he reached on August 5th. After staying 13 days, he started his return jouney. See map of his itinerary.
