Murchio V., "Il viaggio all Indie Orientali", Rome, 1672. First edition. Small Folio, 30x20cm, contemporary paper boards with fine decorated spine rubbed, slightly browned, some spotting, few marginal worming, two pages with marginal old restorations, title [18],482p.,[10], overall very good. The Carmelite monk Vincenzo di Santa Caterina da Siena (his real name was Antonio Murchio 1626-1679), traveled through the Levant to East Indies from 1656 to 1658. All the first book, more than 100 pages, deals with his travel in the Ottoman Levant and provides lengthy accounts. He started his journey in Sicily, avoided Crete, south of Gavdos, as the war raged and arrived in Cyprus before reaching finally the Holy Land. Afterwards he headed north, through Syria and Haleppo, to Eastern Asia Minor where he provides detailed accounts for the then thriving old Greek cities of Edessa and Amida, still mostly inhabited with Greek and Assyrian Christians. Extensive chapters with general observations of trade with the Ottoman Levant, the structure of the Ottoman state, its resources and military forces, its administration, the religious groups of the Levant and the multinational character of the society. He continued his journey in Messopotamia, India and the far East providing lengthy and interesting accounts for several other places. He was the very first to identify the ruins of ancient Babylon, near Baghdad. In his return he crossed the Mediterranean in a French ship which stopped in Limassol, Cyprus, where he faced difficulties as the mariners got drunk of the good wine and could not properly navigate the ship anymore. Finally, he continued to Pafos and through the Archipelago in Italy. Atabey 1297 (for the third edition), according Atabey, this narrative is perhaps the most important Italian travel account for the 17th century. Not in Blackmer, the first edition is extremely rare.