Niccolò de' Conti (1395–1469) was an
Italian merchant and explorer, born in
Chioggia, who traveled to
India and Southeast Asia, and possibly to Southern China, during the early 15th century. After the return of
Marco Polo in 1295, there is no record of Italian traders returning from China until the return of de' Conti by sea in 1439. But we do have the account of the travels of a Franciscan monk by the name of Odoricus Mattiuzzi (1286-1331) from Friuli who in 1310 visited Armenia, Mesopotamia, Persia, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Sumatra, Java, Cambodia, Champa and China.