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All material © Adrian Fletcher 2000-08 - The contents may not be reproduced without permission - Adrian Fletcher can be contacted at afletch at paradoxplace dot com
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CIAO ADRIANO
AROUND TUSCANY
October - November - 2007
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Not quite Tuscany - but this is what three days of the coldest October weather in memory dumped on the Apennines east of Perugia
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The landscape around Panzano just before the sun disappeared and the icy winds which dumped a lot of snow on the Apennines took over
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The triangular Piazza of Greve-in-Chainti - a valley town in this region of hill towns. On the right is the town's most famous son -
Giovanni da Verrazzano (1485 - 1528 (43))
Giovanni da Verrazzano was the one who did the early hard yards in the discovery of the East Coast of North America. Giovanni set out in 1524 with four ships, promoted by the French King Francis I, and paid for by Italian Bankers and Merchants from Lyons (Kings did not pay for things). Two of the ships sank early on and a third got no further than the coast of Spain before having to return home as it was fully laden with booty taken from other less well armed travellers - an interesting commentary on the times!
Our lad made it across the Atlantic in ship 4 and amongst other things discovered New York Harbour (hence the bridge there bearing his name - the longest suspension bridge in the World) and lots of different tribes of native Americans. He also erroneously identified a sea, passing through the middle of the continent to China. He made two more expeditions before being captured and eaten by natives in Guadeloupe in 1528. Well that's the Italian culinary version of his end. Spanish records say that he was captured off the coast of Cadiz and executed on the orders of Charles V, who was probably still smarting about the loss of a treasure ship loaded with priceless loot sent to him from Mexico by Cortés, and captured by Verrazzano in 1522.
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Go to the Page LIst for a full listing of pages and their status
All material © Adrian Fletcher 2000-08 - The contents may not be reproduced without permission - Adrian Fletcher can be contacted at afletch at paradoxplace dot com
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