L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2021 L'Italo-Americano T o us Italians and I t a l i a n - A m e r i - c a n s – a n d t o most historians – t h e r e i s n ' t really any doubt about it: Christopher Columbus was from Genoa. However, not everyone is as certain as we are, so much so the University of Granada, in Spain, decided to put the matter finally to rest using DNA. With the collaboration of other international labo- ratories, including one in Florence, one in Texas and one in Mexico, Columbus' bones will be tested in the h o p e t o o b t a i n , t h r o u g h genetic mapping, a clear picture of his origins. Yes, b e c a u s e w h i l e i t i s v e r y much historically accepted h e w a s b o r n i n G e n o a , Italy, there are several the- ories that would place his b i r t h i n o t h e r p a r t s o f Europe, including Corsica, Spain and Portugal. S p a n i s h d a i l y E l P a i s disclosed details about the s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n , whose results should be published in October this y e a r , j u s t i n t i m e – w e guess – for Columbus Day celebrations. The idea is to e x t r a c t D N A f r o m h i s bones and compare it with that of known relatives and direct descendants of his. Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid, Spain, on the 20 th of May 1506. Since then, doubts about h i s o r i g i n s h a v e a l w a y s thrived. In 2003, patholo- gist and professor of foren- sic medicine José Antonio L o r e n t e , a l o n g w i t h anthropologist Juan Carlos Alvarez Merino and histo- r i a n M a r c i a l C a s t r o , exhumed the remains of the explorer and of his son H e r n a n d o f r o m t h e i r tombs in the Seville cathe- dral. The bones were then c o m p a r e d w i t h t h o s e o f Columbus'brother, Diego Colón, in a study that con- f i r m e d t h e t h r e e w e r e indeed related. However, things are not t h a t c l e a r c u t . T h e D o m i n i c a n R e p u b l i c h a s l o n g a r g u e d t h a t Christopher Columbus is not buried in Spain, but in S a n t o D o m i n g o ' s c a t h e - dral, where in 1877 an urn with his name was discov- e r e d . T h e d i s p u t e h a s a n c i e n t o r i g i n s : i t w a s k n o w n t h a t C o l u m b u s wanted to be buried on the C a r i b b e a n i s l a n d o f Hispaniola, a territory today shared between the Dominican Republic and H a i t i , a n d t h a t ' s w h y i n 1523, seventeen years after h i s d e a t h , h i s b o d y w a s moved from Spain to the South American location, along with that of his son Hernando. When, in 1793, the island became French, the remains were moved t o H a v a n a , u n t i l 1 8 9 8 , w h e n C u b a o b t a i n e d i t s independence. Then, they were transferred across the ocean back to Spain and laid to rest in Seville cathe- dral, in an imposing tomb created by Arturo Mélida. T h e c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h project at the University of Granada has been trying, w i t h t h e h e l p o f t h e S p a n i s h g o v e r n m e n t , t o obtain permission from the D o m i n i c a n R e p u b l i c t o analyze the bones kept in Santo Domingo and ascer- tain their origin through DNA analysis. In the meanwhile, the "Seville remains"—part of which have been kept in a safe at the University of Granada -- are going to be s t u d i e d o n c e m o r e t o understand the heritage of the admiral. The analysis will take place in Spain, in the US and in a number of E u r o p e a n l a b o r a t o r i e s , including some in Italy to a v o i d s u s p i c i o n i n c a s e results showed Columbus wasn't, in fact, Italian at all. T h e w h o l e r e s e a r c h p r o c e s s , a l o n g w i t h i t s results, will be televised in October with a documen- tary by produced by RTVE and Story Producciones. W h i l e t h e f i g u r e o f Columbus remains myste- r i o u s t o t h e e y e s o f t h e p u b l i c , h i s t o r i a n s h a v e never hidden they are fairly sure he was born in Genoa i n 1 4 5 1 , t h e s o n o f G i o v a n n i C o l ó n , o r Colombo, and Giovanna F o n t a n a r r o s a , b o t h w e a v e r s . T h e i r v i e w i s based, as you'd expect from every good historian, on v a l u a b l e a n d r e l i a b l e sources, including the will o f C o l u m b u s ' o w n s o n Hernando. But there are doubts: there is no sign of any document attesting he could write in Italian, as he always communicated in written form using either S p a n i s h d i a l e c t s o r Portuguese. Some theories purport he was a former Spanish Jew who convert- e d t o C a t h o l i c i s m f o r inheritance reasons, while others want him born in a number of different coun- t r i e s , f r o m S p a i n t o P o r t u g a l , a l l t h e w a y t o Croatia and even Poland. T h e t e a m f r o m t h e University of Granada says this is "The most ambitious scientific investigation into the origins of Christopher C o l u m b u s . I t w i l l b r i n g together the various theo- ries developed throughout t h e d e c a d e s , c o m p a r i n g and contrasting them with one another." A mystery that has been lasting for over half a mil- l e n n i u m a n d t h a t c o u l d soon find a solution. While it seems unlikely there'll be big surprises, the thought Christopher could turn out not being Italian is, let's be honest, quite unsettling: it wouldn't only change the way we look at history, but the very symbolism we've been portraying the con- nection between Italy and t h e U S w i t h . C o l u m b u s may have become contro- versial in recent years, yet h i s f i g u r e i s s t i l l d e e p l y rooted into the heart and mind of Italian-Americans. L e t ' s h o p e D N A w o n ' t change any of that. DNA analysis could finally prove that Christopher Columbus was Italian without a doubt (Photo: Tiziano Casalta/Dreamstime) FRANCESCA BEZZONE NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Could DNA finally tell us where Cristoforo Colombo was from?

• Cover