travel with the great explorers Explore with Giovanni da Verrazzano Cynthia O’Brien Crabtree Publishing Company www crabtreebooks com
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
My Explorer Journal Imagine you are a young Verrazzano and you hear about a new world in the Americas What reasons can you think of to explore the new land And what reasons are there to stay home EARLY TRAVELS Young Verrazzano leaves Florence Good at languages As a young man it seems likely that Verrazzano did some traveling He may have picked up some sailing skills on ships in the Mediterranean Sea Some circumstantial evidence suggests he visited Syria and Egypt and may have lived for a time in Cairo Verrazzano may have been working as a merchant during this time European traders regularly traveled for business Verrazzano’s early travels may have inspired him to explore farther THE NEW WORLD Sailing for France In the late 1400s explorers such as John Cabot and Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean Their tales of the New World excited European rulers eager to expand their territory and find new trade routes By 1506 Verrazzano was living in Dieppe France Two years later he took a place on La Pensée a ship captained by Thomas Aubert Aubert sailed to what is now Canada to fish and to explore For Verrazzano it was a first taste of real adventure REVEALING LETTER Report to the King The only record of Verrazzano’s voyages is a letter the explorer wrote to King Francis I in July 1524 The letter describes exploring the northeastern shore of North America above Early historians were not sure that Verrazzano wrote the letter but today most people believe he did write it It contains some clues about Verrazzano For example his use of language and math shows that he was well educated EXPLORE WITH GIOVANNI DA VERRAZZANO 5
