L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2017 SIMONE SANNIO W h e r e a s o u r e x p l o - ration of Italy and its most famous naviga- t o r s s t a r t e d w i t h a t o u r o f Christopher Columbus' traces in Genoa, for this second chapter we are going to focus on the c l o s e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n another great explorer and the city of Venice. The intrepid pio- neer we are talking about is none other than John Cabot, known b y t h e I t a l i a n s a s G i o v a n n i Caboto. As it was the case with Columbus, it is really hard to o v e r l o o k t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f C a b o t ' s a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s : a p p o i n t e d b y t h e K i n g o f England to reach the islands of Japan, in 1497 Cabot set sail from Bristol aboard the ship called Matthew, ready to cross the western ocean. Eventually, though, he ended up landing in North America, becoming the first European to "re-discover" the continent since the Vikings had visited the place around the year 1000. One of the most popular sto- ries about John Cabot's remark- able expedition is that – upon making landfall on the North American coast, in the area now commonly identified as Cape Bonavista (in Newfoundland, Canada) – the navigator set the b a n n e r s o f t h e V e n e t i a n Republic alongside the English flag, then moving on to explore the coastlines of Nova Scotia, L a b r a d o r , a n d M a i n e . A p a r t from these well-known anec- dotes, however, not many people s e e m t o b e r e a l l y a w a r e o f Cabot's actual roots: in fact, it appears that the Italian navigator was not even born in Venice. In other words, his origins remain a mystery, though the most com- mon theory identifies Cabot's real birthplace with either Genoa or the near Ligurian town of Castiglione Chiavarese: the man is described as "another Genoese like Columbus" in a 1498 letter, and it has also been noted that the very word "caboto" means "coastal seaman" in the Genoese dialect. Nonetheless, other loca- tions have been proposed as pos- sible birthplaces: most notably, t h e t o w n s o f G a e t a ( l o c a t e d between Naples and Rome) and Chioggia (in the southern part of the Venetian Lagoon). However it may be, the Cabot f a m i l y m a y h a v e m o v e d t o Venice already during the 1450s, soon after Giovanni was born. By 1471, Zuan Chabotto (as he was called there) had become a member of the prestigious con- f r a t e r n i t y o f S t J o h n t h e E v a n g e l i s t , o n e o f t h e m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l i n t h e M a r i t i m e R e p u b l i c , m e a n i n g t h a t h i s social position was already well- established. Then, in 1474 he married a Venetian woman by the name of Mattea, while in 1476 he officially gained the privileged status of cittadino (citizen), requiring at least 15 years of residence in the city and p e r m i t t i n g h i m t o e n g a g e i n international maritime trade. All i n a l l , i t w a s h e r e i n L a S e r e n i s s i m a R e p u b b l i c a d i V e n e z i a – t h e " M o s t S e r e n e R e p u b l i c o f V e n i c e " – t h a t young Cabot happened to learn the art of sailing from local sea- men as well as from his own father, a spice merchant named Giulio. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , j u s t a f e w traces of Cabot's presence sur- v i v e i n p r e s e n t - d a y V e n i c e , except for the information about his life included in the ancient Not many people seem to be really aware of Cabot's actual roots. However, the Cabot family may have moved to Venice already during the 1450's, soon after Giovanni was born Entrance to the Marciana National Library, one of the largest Italian libraries and the most important of Venice. — Photo by maxics Cabot became the first European to "re-discover" the continent since the Vikings had visited the place around the year 1000 Back to the Land of Explorers (Part II): Cabot and Venice manuscripts from the awe-inspir- i n g B i b l i o t e c a N a z i o n a l e Marciana (National Library of St Mark's), one of the world's most important collections of classical texts. From similar sources we learn that in 1482 Cabot bought some houses in the central district of San Polo (con- n e c t e d t o S a n M a r c o a n d i t s famous Basilica by the Rialto Bridge), while the following year he was doing business in Crete (at the time part of the Venetian Republic) and all along the Eastern Mediterranean. In 1488, though, Cabot was ulti- mately forced to leave the "City of Canals" and to take refuge in Spain and England because of his pressing debts. Since those long-lost days, however, the people of Venice have definitely forgiven and p a y e d d u e h o m a g e t o t h e i r famous co-citizen. An 18 th cen- t u r y p a i n t i n g b y G i u s t i n o Menescardi, for example, is now to be found on the walls of the city's gorgeous Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace), in the so-called Sala dello Scudo (Shield Room): in it, Cabot is represented in tra- ditional Venetian clothes, while some underlying notes celebrate h i s A m e r i c a n d i s c o v e r i e s . Alternatively, you can always take a walk by the lagoon in the beautiful Castello district, along the Riva dei Sette Martiri: not far f r o m t h e A r s e n a l a n d t h e Gardens hosting the Biennale Art Festival stands the peculiar 15 th century palace which was home to the Cabot family. Despite having been restored several times during its long his- tory, this trapezoid-shaped build- i n g k n o w n t o d a y a s P a l a z z o Caboto still unmistakably resem- bles the features of a ship. It is a l s o s a i d t h a t – f o l l o w i n g Cabot's mysterious disappear- ance during his final voyage – the local people began to keep away from this place, believing it was cursed: as a result, the house was deserted for many years. Even though the palace is still not available for visits, two plaques were put on its facade in 1881 and 1992 as a tribute to its former residents: not only to Giovanni Caboto, but also to his son Sebastiano, who – following in his father's footsteps as an explorer – has become famous for his own discoveries in the New World. ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES

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