Verrazzano.s Horizon. A Tale of Discovery

The basic theme of this thoroughly researched story is the driving passion for fame and wealth that pushes Giovanni Verrazzano to attempt dangerous adventures and discover unknown lands. His ultimate failure brings him to the harsh and painful reality of disappointment. Verrazzano falls from high expectations into bitter despair. A history professor, Ross Turner, using the Villon Library in Rouen, France makes a valuable find when he discovers an unknown journal by Gerolamo Verrazzano written during a voyage of discovery in 1524 to North America with his more famous brother, Giovanni. Professor Turner immediately begins a translation of the journal, which reveals many previously unknown details about the voyage along with insights to life and people in the sixteenth century including Erasmus, Martin Luther, and Francis 1st. Using the journal translations and the professor s commentaries, this historical fiction tells the story of the Verrazzano brothers efforts to realize their separate ambitions through a voyage to the New World. Giovanni, the ship s captain, is ambitious to find wealth and fame that surely await him beyond the horizon, and his muse, Orizontas, urges him on. When he finds no signs of wealth along the coast of North America, he sees impending failure. Giovanni is determined to convince the king to sanction a return voyage for more thorough search. Disappointment comes when he returns to France to find the king, Francis 1st, embroiled in battles with the Holy...