Explore with Giovanni da Verrazzano

Explore with Giovanni da Verrazzano — page 1
Meet the Boss Mystery surrounds the early life of the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano Later his adventures led him to the French court and on historic voyages across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World of the Americas Did you know No one knows how Verrazzano spelled his name In Latin records it appears as Verazanus Most now spell it as Verrazzano but sometimes it only has one z as on the Verrazano Bridge in New York UNCERTAIN IDENTITY Lack of records There are no primary sources about Giovanni da Verrazzano’s early life There is not even a record of his birth so historians are not sure when and where Verrazzano was born Although Verrazzano spent much of his life in France he referred to himself as a Florentine meaning he came from Florence in what is now Italy Most scholars believe he was probably born around 1485 in Val di Greve near Florence CHILD OF THE RENAISSANCE Florentine childhood Growing up in a center of culture Verrazzano’s birthplace Florence right was a center of the Renaissance a time of great advances in art science and philosophy A new way of thinking began in Florence in the 1300s and spread across Europe People challenged old ways of thinking and put a new emphasis on education and exploration As the son of wealthy traders Verrazzano was educated in this new way 4 TRAVEL WITH THE GREAT EXPLORERS