If there is one reason why Italian Americans are especially proud of their ethnic roots, it is because Italy happened to be the birthplace of the first explorers and navigators who “discovered” – or better, “re-discovered” – America at the end of the 15th century.

As we all know,  it all began in 1492 with Christopher Columbus’ groundbreaking first voyage on the three caravels... But apart from this well-known fact, how much are we really acquainted with the actual life of early Italian explorers like him? Have you ever wondered, for example, whether there are some traces left from the years these men spent in Italy before eventually crossing the Atlantic and reaching the “New World”?