NOTIZIE SULL’AMERICA NELLA MILANO DEL TRECENTO: LA “NUOVA GEOGRAFIA” DEI VIAGGIATORI

Abstract

The Cronica universalis, written in Milan by the Dominican friar Galvano Fiamma and currently been studied in the University of Milan (Dipartimento di Studi Letterari, Filologici e Linguistici), has recently granted a remarkable discovery: the first mention of the American continent in Southern Europe, a century and a half before Columbus' voyage. This discovery leads to a re-evaluation of a Milanese writer who has not enjoyed a good reputation, either as a historical source or for his literary quality, and provides an new piece for the reconstruction of the network of geographical knowledge of scholars in the late Middle Ages.