Renaissance Humanism and the Italian Age of Discovery
Reader Review:
I was absolutely fascinated by Di Giacomo's book on Italian explorers. Columbus, Vespucci, Verrazzano and Cabot (Caboto), are revealed with all their faults and glories. In this book you will not only learn about the adventures of these historically important sailors, but also about the times they lived and the transition from the dogmatic past to the new ideas of humanist thought that take us from the steadfast devotion of proclamations from the ancients to the new knowledge of empiricism that was based on factual events and experience.
Why were the Italians so well adapted to the exploration and navigation of the seas? And why did Italy not participate in the colony building and the land grabs that other European nations did? We get answers to these questions as we relive the lives of these Italian navigators, their children, their relatives, and their patrons.
The many original documents: letters, legal proceedings, and declarations, give us a real sense of not only those transitional times, but also of some of the confusion that resulted from literary style of the documents and the competition between the sailors and the respective countries they represented.
Dave Perzinski
ISBN-13: 979-8648719255
Description:
The Emergence of the idea of a new world
The collective discoveries of Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, John and Sebastian Cabot, and Giovanni da Verrazzano constitute a distinct Italian Era of Discovery which laid the groundwork for all other voyages which followed. The Italian discoverers deserve a place alongside the well-known Humanists in the history of art, literature, philosophy, and government by virtue of their research and accomplishments. The explorers also made original contributions to the fields of science, navigation and cartography.
The worldview of the Italian explorers evolved to include the concept of a new world.They had to reevaluate their cosmography and change the maps to reflect their new knowledge.The concept of a New World was equally profound as that of a new age.The most important contribution of the Italian explorers was not what they found, but the change in thinking that took place when they tried to explain their discoveries.
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Table of Contents
1. The Italian Era of Discovery
2. Christopher Columbus
3. Amerigo Vespucci
4. John and Sebastian Cabot
5. Giovanni da Verrazzano
6.
The Impact of the Age of Discovery on Italy
Conclusion
Appendices
Italian Voyages of Discovery
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Bibliography
Chronology of the Italian Era of Discovery
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