Italian American Herald - October 2019

BOOK REVIEW
A moving saga of Phila. Italians during WW I.
PAGE 10
LOCAL
Vendemmia returns to Wilmington Riverfront
PAGE 18
ACHIEVER
Philadelphia’s Rocco DeFinis goes against the grain
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WWW.ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM
OCTOBER 2019
A MONTHLY NEWSPAPER SERVING THE ITALIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY
This map shows what was known of the Eastern Hemisphere in the early 1500s. The Western Hemisphere was still being explored.
By Jeanne Outlaw-Cannavo
The focal point of Italian Heritage Month has often been on Christopher Columbus and his “discovery” of America when he landed on the shores of several Caribbean islands over the course of several voyages. But Columbus did not have the good fortune of having the two large continents that now comprise the Americas named for him.
That honor and distinction was bestowed upon another Italian, Amerigo Vespucci,
who deserves to be recognized during this month that is meant to celebrate the many contributions which Italians have made to western civilization.
Amerigo Vespucci made four voyages during which he discovered a lot of the coastline and rivers of South, Central and North America. The first of his voyages has been disputed since he first described it, because it meant that Vespucci had reached the mainland of America before Christopher
Columbus. Instead of naming the continent of America after Columbus, it came to be named America after Amerigo. Often out of resentment at the lessening of Columbus’ achievements, allegations have persisted for centuries that Amerigo or somebody else has either fabricated much of what was described of his voyages, or has been mistaken in what was written. **
Vespucci was thought to have been born in 1454 in Florence. He was a merchant
and explorer-navigator who took part in early voyages to the New World starting about five years after Columbus landed in Hispaniola in 1492. Vespucci sailed between 1497 and 1504, leaving behind two series of documents of his voyages. The first consists of a letter written by Vespucci, perhaps to the magistrate of a medieval Italian republic, Piero Soderini, dated Sept. 4, 1504. The document, written in Italian while Vespucci
continued on page 4
Where did America get its name?
Amerigo Vespucci found it first, though not without controversy
Vol. 6 / No. 10