Problem
Where was Christopher Columbus born, where did he live and die, was he Christian or Jewish, where is he buried and where is his statue?
Answers
Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, say the Italians. You fly into Liguria, a ribbon of land on the Italian coast on the Ligurian Sea, to Christopher Columbus airport.
Photo by Alain Rouille from Wikipedia.
A grand statue of Christopher Columbus is in Piazza Aquaverde, Genoa, Italy.
Columbus in Europe
He offered his services to the King of Portugal, and eventually was sponsored by the King and Queen of Spain. His brother was a map maker.
Columbus Statues, Cities, Memorials
SPAIN
A statue of Columbus is in Barcelona, Spain.
PORTUGAL
A statue of Columbus is in Funchal on the Island of Madeira which is Portuguese.
USA
You can see statues of him in America in: New York city, New York; Denver, Colorado; Pennsylvania. Many cities and areas are called Columbus or Columbia.
PUERTO RICO
A statue is in Puerto Rico.
BOYHOOD HOME IN ITALY
His boyhood home is in Genoa, Liguria, Italy. You can read about it in Wikipedia and TripAdvisor.
Christopher Columbus boyhood home museum, Genoa, Liguria, Italy. Photo by Jose Antonio from Wikipedia.
Burial
His body was moved around.
SPAIN
Columbus's body is currently in the cathedral of Seville, Spain. DNA testing has shown the remains are related to those of his brother.
It is not the only country to claim to have his remains.
Whilst it is fairly common to have part of a saint's body in a Greek church, they seem to send off body bits in all directions to bestow sanctity on sub-churches. I've heard of many places which have the heart of somebody, or even a finger. But to have two skulls from the head of the same man would stretch credulity.
I read extensively around the theory that Columbus was of Jewish descent, and a converse, or converted Jew.
If I remember rightly, some people claim that his grandparents were Jewish and from an off shore island, and they and/or his parents moved to Genoa.
In order to gain sponsorship from the devoutly Catholic King and Queen in Spain he had to be Catholic.
He was due to sail on the day the Inquisition started, but was prevented by bad weather and went a day later.
Two converted Jews were connected with his voyage. One was the man who gave the money for the voyage, after Columbus got approval to sail officially under the Spanish flag on behalf of the Spanish rulers.
Another member of the crew, known to be a convert to Christianity, stopped off at an island and did not go back to Spain. If Columbus were seeking a refuge for fellow Jews, why did he not stop there himself? Did he go back to tell others?
Or did he turn to Spain to protect his family who were in effect held hostage. Surely he could have sent the ship back, with the story that he had died and been buried at sea?
Christopher Columbus left instructions to his son to always write their surname in a particular way, a very elaborate series of squiggles, thought to conceal yet reveal to the knowlegeable a Hebrew letter which was a code to tell others he was a convert who wished to keep in touch with others who, despite having converted, were always at risk.
Others say this proves nothing. Besides, he was buried as a Christian in a Christian cathedral and that settles the matter. However, the mystery and controversy keeps interest in a story from centuries ago, the statues. and monuments on the tourist circuit. He took not one but four voyages. For those of us who find preparing for any long trip a challenge, he deserves his statue and it is worth a stop and a photo.
In Genoa you can see the house of Columbus.
For more, see Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liguria
http://wikitravel.org/en/Genoa
http://www.italia.it/en/discover-italy/liguria.html
https://www.umbriatourism.it
Also see the tourist boards for Spain, Portugal, Puerto Rico and the USA
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share posts.
