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

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.