3627

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 102; Larghezza: 184

inchiostro

Nautical planisphere

The original author was Juan de la Cosa (1460-1510), owner of the Santa Maria, pilot and cartographer for Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci. He created it for the Spanish monarchs upon his return to Cadiz in 1500. The map was drawn vertically, with the West at the top and the East at the bottom. At the top is an effigy of Saint Christopher, perhaps a tribute to his captain. The map is crossed by two red horizontal lines, indicating the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator. A blue vertical line indicates the division of influence between Castile and Portugal, established by Pope Alexander VI's bull the year after the discovery. The map contains gross errors in the position of the Caribbean islands, which are drawn much further north than they actually are. A unique copy of the original map, painted on parchment in 1500 and kept at the Naval Museum in Madrid. It was commissioned for the Colombian celebrations in 1892.

3467

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 21; Larghezza: 65

olio su tela

Portrait of Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci

Why was the American continent named after Amerigo Vespucci, even though its discovery is commonly attributed to Christopher Columbus? First of all, it must be said that the accusations levelled at Vespucci for so long – he was long considered a fraud and a vain man who had stolen Columbus' glory – are unjustified. Even the number of his voyages to America has been falsified: not four, but two, in 1499 and 1501. He never tried to take credit for the discovery. In fact, at first, Vespucci, like Columbus, believed that the lands he discovered were part of Asia.

Amerigo Vespucci was born in 1454 into an ancient Florentine family and received an excellent humanistic education. At a very young age, he entered the commercial house of the Florentine banker Lorenzo di Pier Francesco de' Medici, who organised Spanish and Portuguese overseas expeditions. At the end of May 1501, he undertook an expedition on behalf of Portugal. After reaching the extreme southern latitude reached on his first voyage, he continued along the continent towards the south-west, reaching the strait later discovered by Ferdinand Magellan. In July 1502, he was back in Lisbon. This voyage was the most significant, revealing to the navigator the unexpected existence of a New World. In fact, Vespucci had sailed along a mainland at a latitude so far south that it had never been reached even by other Portuguese navigators, who had already circumnavigated Africa and reached India: hence the idea of an independent continent, which he became the proponent of. Rectangular oil painting on canvas, with a gilded frame. The bust portraits of the two navigators are inserted into two ovals on the canvas, while cherubs hold the symbols of the great navigators in their hands.

3313

Unità di misura: m; Altezza: 1.4; Larghezza: 1.258; Lunghezza: 0.32

legno

Esposizione colombiana - Genova - 1892<br>Esposizione colombiana - Chicago - 1893<br>Esposizione universale - New York - 1939<br>Mostra colombiana - Genova - 1950

Caravel 'Niña'

The Niña was a caravel, one of three ships used on Christopher Columbus's first voyage of discovery. Its captain was Vicente Yañez Pinzón.
Particularly light, manoeuvrable and fast, Columbus also wanted it on his second voyage to the New World. Model built using the half-model technique: full hull planed. Made for the Colombian Exhibition of 1892.

3312

Unità di misura: m; Altezza: 1,35; Larghezza: 1,584; Lunghezza: 0,745

legno

Esposizione colombiana - Genova - 1892<br>Esposizione colombiana - Chicago - 1893<br>Esposizione universale - New York - 1939<br>Mostra colombiana - Genova - 1950<br>ex museid

Pinta Caravel

The ‘Pinta’ was a caravel, one of the three ships used in Christopher Columbus's first voyage of discovery. It was owned and commanded by Martin Alonso Pinzón. Built using the half-model technique: planed full hull. Made for the 1892 Colombian Exhibition in Genoa.

3311

Unità di misura: m; Altezza: 1,475; Larghezza: 1,629; Lunghezza: 0,81

legno

Esposizione colombiana - Genova - 1892<br>Esposizione universale - New York - 1939<br>Mostra colombiana - Genova - 1950

Navis Santa Maria

The Santa Maria was the cargo ship (nao) in which Columbus crossed the Atlantic on his first voyage of discovery. Its owner was Juan de la Cosa, who drew one of the first maps of the ocean. The ship sank on Christmas Day 1492 off the coast of Haiti, and the timber was used to build a fort - La Navidad - the first Spanish settlement in the New World. Built using the half-model technique: planed full hull. Made for the Colombian Exhibition of 1892.

D 2242

Unità di misura: mm; Altezza: 309; Larghezza: 228

carboncino

Mostra di Federico Barocci - Bologna - 1975<br>Maestri del disegno - Genova - 1990

Head of St Vitale

F. Malaguzzi Valeri (1911) recognised this drawing as one of the preparatory drawings for the large altarpiece of the 'Martyrdom of St. Vitale', painted by Barocci between 1580 and 1583 for the monks of the basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, which is now in the Brera Art Gallery. (BOCCARDO, 1999) Head of St Vitale.

D 2494

Unità di misura: mm; Altezza: 285; Larghezza: 316

quadrettatura a matita nera

Immaculate Madonna in glory

Immaculate Madonna in glory.