L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5 2023 www.italoamericano.org 4 E ight marvelous pages herald the discovery of the New World. It's t h e a c c o u n t Christopher Columbus shared with the treasurer of Kings Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, who had sponsored his bold expe- d i t i o n i n t o t h e u n k n o w n . They banked on his adven- turous resolve to pioneer an uncharted route to the East Indies, all in the hopes of e n r i c h i n g t h e c o f f e r s o f Spain. To face the unknown seas and winds, and more so, the sea monsters and legends that could spark mutiny or revolt aboard, they equipped him with just three caravels and 90 men. Twenty-four sailed on the Nina, twenty- seven on the Pinta, and thir- t y - n i n e w i t h h i m o n t h e Santa Maria. They set sail at the crack of dawn on August 3 , 1 4 9 2 , f r o m P a l o s d e l a Frontera, a quaint Spanish p o r t j u s t a s t o n e ' s t h r o w away from Portugal. Merely three days later, sabotage was suspected when the rud- der of the Pinta broke. It was mended, but another mishap forced the ships to halt for repairs. They embarked once more a month later. Depart- i n g f r o m t h e p o r t o f S a n Sebastian de la Gomera, in t h e C a n a r y I s l a n d s , a n d aided by the trade winds, t h e y s a i l e d f o r a n o t h e r month with the sailors never catching a glimpse of land. During this time, Columbus observed with awe that the compasses were showing the magnetic pole drifting far- t h e r f r o m t h e g e o g r a p h i c north, diverting the ships off the right course. Then came the long waves of the Atlantic. The crew, who had started fretting just a few days post- departure, feared that the c o n s t a n t w e s t w a r d w i n d s would thwart their return home, never ceased to pre- dict failures and clamor for a turnaround. On October 10, w e a r i e d a n d v e x e d , t h e y wrung an agreement from the commander of this wild expedition: if within three or four days the lookouts had not sighted land, the car- avels would head back. But here's the longed-for happy ending: the next day, they spotted a reed, a stick, and a t w i g w i t h a f r e s h f l o w e r floating. Only the nearness of land could explain this. That very night, as recorded in the ship's log, Columbus s a i d h e g l i m p s e d a l i g h t : "like a small candle that rose and advanced" (como una candelilla que se levava y se a d e l a n t a b a ) . F i n a l l y , a t two in the morning on O c t o b e r 1 2 , 1 4 9 2 , land w a s s i g h t e d a b o a r d t h e Pinta. By noon, Columbus landed on an island, in the Bay of Fernandez, with the commanders of the other two caravels, the officers, t h e o f f i c i a l s , a n d n o t a r y Rodrigo de Escobedo: all signed the document chris- tening that place, which had s a v e d C o l u m b u s a n d h i s expedition, San Salvador. On March 4, 1493, after a myriad of other adventures, Columbus docked at Reste- lo, near Lisbon, marking the end of his return journey. Rui de Pina, a humanist at the court of John II, was the first to narrate the success of the overseas venture and the visit made to his king and the Portuguese court: "On March 6, 1493, Christopher Columbus arrived from the 'Antilles of Castile'." Before returning home to the Kings of Spain, the navi- g a t o r , w h o w a s a l r e a d y eager to set sail for the new world once more, penned a letter to the royal treasurer Luis de Santangel, announc- ing his arrival. He aimed to reassure the backers of the grand venture's successful outcome: "Knowing I ought t o b e g r a t e f u l f o r h a v i n g c o m p l e t e d m y v e n t u r e , I have resolved to write to you, informing you of every- thing I did and discovered on this journey." But that's not all. He was already seek- ing favor for the next voy- age: "Finally, to briefly state the utility of our departure and our prompt return, this I promise: that to our invin- cible Kings, as long as they provide a bit of aid, I will furnish as much gold as they need," and shortly after he also added: "Which things, if they are indeed grand and extraordinary, would have b e e n e v e n m o r e s o h a d I been provided with a greater abundance of ships." This very text, wherein the navigator alludes to all t h e w o n d e r s d i s c o v e r e d , stands today as a precious i n c u n a b u l u m ( a s e a r l y books printed with movable t y p e a r e c a l l e d ) d a t e d 1 4 9 3 , w h i c h i t s e l f h a s embarked on an incredible journey considering it's a fragile piece of paper bear- ing many centuries on its shoulders. The epistle titled De Insulis Indiae supera Gangem nuper inventis, is not an autograph of Colum- bus. The letter, originally penned in Spanish by the n a v i g a t o r , w a s p r o m p t l y translated into Latin (a lan- guage which, like English today, facilitated dissemina- t i o n a c r o s s E u r o p e ) a n d t h e n p r i n t e d i n R o m e b y Stephan Plannck, as one of the initial thirty editions. The document consists of eight pages and holds mon- u m e n t a l h i s t o r i c - b i b l i o - g r a p h i c s i g n i f i c a n c e , y e t sadly, also bears consider- able commercial value due to its rarity and precious- ness. The letter was stolen by an art thief from the Mar- ciana National Library in Venice sometime before 1988, and only found its way back after a long 35 years of i n v e s t i g a t i v e e n d e a v o r s . Eventually, it landed in the possession of a wealthy Dal- l a s c o l l e c t o r . W h e n informed about the illicit history of the item, as evi- denced and verified by the C o m m a n d o f t h e C a r a - binieri for the Protec- tion of Cultural Heritage (Tpc), the collector willingly complied with the confisca- t i o n e x e c u t e d b y t h e Eight marvelous pages that changed history BARBARA MINAFRA NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS The precious incunabulum where the words of Columbus are recorded is carefully shown in Italy (Photo: Emanuele Antonio Minerva - © Ufficio Stampa e Comunicazione MiC) CONTINUED TO PAGE 6

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