Thirty-One Days of Italians

The purpose of this website is to educate others about the significant contributions that those of Italian heritage have made to America. Biographies range from one to several paragraphs providing an overview, and links to a collection of selected resources are provided for more in-depth research. The information is intended to be shared and distributed; however, the work in this website is a result of massive hours of researching, organizing, creating, and writing. If you use any of the information on this website, please give proper credit by citing Thirty-One Days of Italians and adding a link to this website. Thank you.

EXPLORATION

After hearing of Columbus’s success, and with experience in spice trade and navigation, Caboto sought financial backing first in Spain and then in Portugal. He moved to England, and in 1496 with the support (letters patent) from King Henry VII, he was granted permission and received funding for a voyage west, setting sail from Bristol. Although it was generally accepted that Caboto went to Bristol when he first arrived in England, research conducted in the early 2000s has shown Caboto went to London first and received initial funds from Italian bankers. (Ongoing research continues through the Cabot Project.)  Caboto made a first attempt sailing northwest in 1496, but the trip was not successful. The following year in May, Caboto sailed again. On June 24, 1497, Caboto landed on the North American continent, claiming the “new found land” for the King of England. In 1498, he made a third voyage but – currently – it has produced only speculation about the voyage and what happened to Caboto. John Cabot First Letters Patent granted by Henry VII to John Cabot, 5 March 1496 John Cabot and the first English expedition to America Bristol, John Cabot and the Exploration of The Americas Cabot Project Caboto House in Venice

Giacomo Costantino Beltrami (1779-1855) Born into a large family in Bergamo, Italy, when France took rule of the city in 1797, Beltrami joined with the new government. After Napoleon was defeated in 1815, Beltrami’s political association with France caused doubt among the newly forming government, and in 1820, the loss of a close friend caused him to travel in Italy, and then to America in the early 1820s. After visits to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., Beltrami started a trip through the Ohio River and the Mississippi River to New Orleans, and met Lawrence Taliaferro, a former U.S. Army Lieutenant, appointed an Indian Agent by President James Monroe. (An Indian agent worked as a liaison between the federal government and the Native Americans.) Interested in the source of the Mississippi, Beltrami changed course and joined Taliaferro on the first steamboat to travel upstream on the river. After landing at Fort Saint Anthony (renamed Fort Snelling), he journeyed through Minnesota, sometimes traveling with a Native American guide, other times traveling alone. Citing what he believed to be the source of the Mississippi, he named it Lake Julia, in admiration for his lost friend, and wrote a book, A Pilgrimage in Europe and America, about his travels and discoveries. Throughout his journey, Beltrami collected Native American artifacts believed to be the first ever assembled. The collection – including two wood flutes – was sent to his home town and is housed in the Museo Civico di Scienze Naturali (Civic Museum of Natural Science). In Minnesota, a city, county, and lake are named in his honor. Giacomo Costantino Beltrami: Biographical Outline A Pilgrimage in Europe and America (Book published in 1828) In search of the Mississippi’s source: Giacomo Costantino Beltrami Mississippi River (Map) The Beltrami Flutes: The Earliest Known Wooden Native American Flute Historical Marker near Richfield, Minnesota

Giovanni Caboto (c.1450-c.1498) Known throughout the world as John Cabot, Giovanni Caboto was born and raised in Italy. Some sources claim he was born in Genoa, others cite Gaeta – a town near Naples. The date of his birth also varies, with mentions of slightly before 1450. His father was a spice merchant and may be the reason why his family moved to Venice during his pre-teen years. In Venice, Caboto followed in his father’s profession as a spice trader and also became an expert navigator. In 1476, he was granted Venetian citizenship, allowing him to conduct trade at the ports of Venice. With his knowledge of spice trade and navigation, Caboto was prominent in the industry, but financial difficulties caused him, his wife, and children to move to Valencia, Spain and later to Seville. In Spain, he worked on some construction projects, having previous experience in building houses in Venice.

Amerigo Vespucci [HM](c.1451-1512) Born into a wealthy family in Florence, Vespucci received his education under the tutelage of his uncle, Giorgio Antonio Vespucci, an influential scholar who had established a school for nobles. The younger Vespucci studied language and the physical sciences – astronomy, cosmography (maps), and geography – that most likely caused an early interest in exploration.  The Vespucci family was well established in Florence, founding a hospital and building a church, both still an historic part of the community. The church contains a fresco, Madonna of Mercy, by Domenico Ghirlandaio, that is said to depict members of the Vespucci family – including a young Amerigo – being protected under the extended arms of the Virgin Mary.  After the death of his father, Vespucci’s responsibilities to his family and his family’s connections, earned him a position with the de’ Medici family as a financial manager, first in Florence, then in Spain. By the late 1490s, with news of Columbus’s voyages, Vespucci turned his attention toward exploration. He sailed for Spain and then Portugal, making four voyages between 1497 and 1504. Traveling twice to explore the coastline of South America, Vespucci was the first to realize that the New World was a new continent. His affiliation with the de’ Medici family was well known and letters describing his journeys were widely distributed throughout Europe. Many historians cite both as reasons why leading German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller identified the new continent as America, named after Amerigo, when he created a map of the world in 1507. The Life of Amerigo Vespucci Undocumented Vespucci Account of His First Voyage [Fordham University] The Letters of Amerigo Vespucci [Digital Book] Ghirlandaio’s Madonna of Mercy 1507 Waldseemuller Map [Library of Congress] America’s Namesake

Giovanni da Verrazzano (1485-c.1528) In 1524, Verrazzano – sailing for France – explored the northeast coast of North America, first stopping in North Carolina, then New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Maine. He was the first European explorer to enter the harbor of New York. Born in Greve (region of Tuscany), the history of the Verrazzano family can be traced back to the seventh century when the family settled in Greve (now named Greve in Chianti), about 20 miles south of Florence. Amid political upheavals, the family prospered and a hilltop castle was built on ancient ruins. Verrazzano’s education led him to travel at a young age; and in his early 20s, he moved to France, settling in the popular seaport town of Dieppe. In Dieppe, he became acquainted with those who made their living from the sea and within a few years, he was sailing as a privateer – a private-owned ship sanctioned by the government in warfare – for King Francis I. Verrazzano’s interest in exploration and finding a northwest sea route to the east was backed by spice and silk merchants who wanted a faster and less expensive way to transport merchandise, and by King Francis who had an interest in acquiring land for France. Verrazzano sailed La Dauphine, reaching the coast of what isnow North Carolina in 1524. He sailed north along the coast, charting the waters and recording his observations of Native Americans. He named the island of Manhattan Angoulême for King Francis I, also known as the Count of Angoulême, and provided the information about the coastline for a map made in 1550; showing the Sea of Verrazzano. He made two more voyages for France – exploring the coast of South America, but during the following voyage through Florida and the islands of the Caribbean, he was captured on one of the islands and killed. In 1909, a statue was erected in Battery Park (New York City), honoring Verrazzano as the first European explorer to enter New York Harbor. In 1964, the world’s longest suspension bridge – 4,260 feet – connecting Brooklyn and Staten Island was named in his honor. A ten-year controversy over naming the bridge after Verrazzano was won by Italian American historian John N. LaCorte through his diligence in establishing that Verrazzano was the discoverer of New York Harbor. After the naming, a controversy developed regarding the spelling of the explorer’s name. In 2018, a second “z” was added; and signs for the bridge are changed when they are replaced from wear. The Ages of Exploration: Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano (The Canadian Encyclopedia) Translation of 1524 Letter from Verrazzano to King Francis I (PDF) The Verrazzano World Map (1529) When New York Was Called Angoulême The Battery: Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano Statue, Battery Park, New York  (YouTube Video) The Naming of the Verrazzano Bridge Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge NEW  Verrazzano Bridge Finally Gets Its Second ‘Z' After More Than 50 Years

Enrico de Tonti (c.1649-1704) [Henri de Tonti, Henri Tonty] In the mid-seventeenth century, most of the land south of Rome (of what is now Italy) was under Spanish rule, and battles were often fought for control of the region. Enrico de Tonti was born during a revolt against the Spaniards that ended in defeat. His father – a politician and businessman – was part of the revolution, and to avoid persecution, he fled to France with his family and newborn son Enrico, now Henri.   It’s noted that de Tonti was well educated and that he enlisted as a cadet in the French army in his late teens. He later served in the French navy and – according to some sources – de Tonti became lieutenant and fought numerous sea battles. While in the French military, de Tonti lost his hand and the iron replacement, covered with a glove, earned him the nickname, “Iron Hand.” While in Paris, de Tonti met René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, a former Jesuit who was seeking permission from Louis XIV to establish colonies and a trade market in America for New France. In partnering with La Salle, de Tonti first traveled to Quebec in 1678, and was subsequently put in charge of establishing a fort at Niagara Falls, and later assigned by La Salle to supervise several other forts and fur trading posts in the Eastern Great Lakes area. In 1682, de Tonti traveled with La Salle down the Mississippi River and was with La Salle when he claimed the Louisiana Territory for King Louis XIV. (De Tonti chronicled La Salle’s expeditions in Memoir ….) Throughout his travels in the Midwest and the South, de Tonti established friendly relations with many Native American tribes, at times negotiating peace between tribes; and he was later appointed to negotiate peace between the Choctaw and Chickasaw in Louisiana. La Salle often placed de Tonti in charge and after La Salle died in 1687, many considered de Tonti his successor.  In addition to his numerous expeditions and relationships with Native Americans, in 1687, de Tonti established the first settlement in Arkansas, earning him the title “The Father of Arkansas.” De Tonti died from yellow fever. Henri de Tonti (1649–1704) [Encyclopedia of Arkansas] Enrico Tonti’s Contributions Tonti, Henri de (ca. 1649–1704) [Handbook of Texas] Enrico Tonti: The Most Powerful Man in America Memoir on La Salle's Discoveries 1678-1690 by Henri de Tonti [PDF] American Journeys: Notes on Memoir …  They Called Him “Thunder Arm”: Henri de Tonti, the ‘Father’ of Arkansas  Henri de Tonti – the Founder of Peoria [PDF] Historic & Important Inscribed Miquelet of North American Explorer Henri De Tonti De Tonty Suing for Peace in the Iroquois Village [Painting by George Catlin, c.1847]  

2022-23 List of Names

2023-24 List of Names