Editing Giovanni da Verrazzano (section)

==Early life==
Verrazzano was born in [[Greve in Chianti|Val di Greve]], south of [[Florence]], the capital and main city of the [[Republic of Florence]],<ref>{{cite book | last = Morison | first = Samuel Eliot | author-link= Samuel Eliot Morison | title =  The European Discovery of America: The Northern Voyages | url = https://archive.org/details/europeandiscover00moririch | url-access = registration | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1971 | location = New York | page = [https://archive.org/details/europeandiscover00moririch/page/283 283] | isbn = 0-19-215941-0}}</ref><ref>Giovanni Da Verrazzano, "Life" – [http://www.verrazzano.org/en/index2.php?c=vita Centro Studi Da Verrazzano.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115081116/http://www.verrazzano.org/en/index2.php?c=vita |date=2012-01-15 }}</ref><ref>Henry C. Murphy, ''The Voyage of The Verrazzano'', Kessinger Publishing, 2004, p. 90. – [https://books.google.com/books?id=MbsCpjZMmZYC&pg=PA90 Google Books]</ref><ref>Dale Anderson et al., ''Explorers and Exploration'', Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2005, p. 765: "Giovanni da Verrazzano was born into a wealthy family in the Castle of Verrazzano, on a hilltop overlooking the Greve valley, a wine-producing area thirty miles south of Florence, in central Italy." – [https://books.google.com/books?id=-ZL1_sVp3AEC&pg=PA765 Google Books]</ref><ref>"Verrazano, Giovanni da" entry in David Buisseret, ''The Oxford Companion to World Exploration'', vol. 2, Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 332: "Thirty miles south of Florence, in the Tuscan town of Greve, explorer Giovanni da Verrazano (sometimes spelt Verrazzano) was born." – [https://books.google.com/books?id=vsgRAQAAIAAJ&q=giovanni+da+verrazzano+born+greve Google Books]</ref> the son of Piero Andrea di Bernardo da Verrazzano and Fiammetta Cappelli. It is generally claimed that he was born in the [[Castle of Verrazzano|Castello di Verrazzano]], hence its birth indicator (similar to [[Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo ''da Vinci'']]). 

Some alternative theories have been elaborated; for example, certain French scholars assume that Verrazzano was born in [[Lyon]], France, the son of Alessandro di Bartolommeo da Verrazano and Giovanna Guadagni.<ref>{{cite book | last = Habert | first = Jacques | title = La vie et les voyages de Jean de Verrazane | publisher = Cercle du livre de France | year = 1964 | location = Montréal & Ottawa | page = 182}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Boucher | first = Alain | title = Jean de Verrazane : un lyonnais découvre le site de New-York | publisher = University Claude Bernard Lyon-1 | year = 2006 | location = Lyon}}</ref> 

"Whatever the case," writes Ronald S. Love, "Verrazzano always considered himself to be Florentine,"<ref>Ronald S. Love,  [''Maritime exploration in the age of discovery, 1415–1800'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, p. 133: "Giovanni da Verrazano was probably born to an aristocratic family from Greve in Tuscany, Italy, though he might also have been born to Italian parents living in Lyon, France. Whatever the case, Verrazano always considered himself to be Florentine". – [https://books.google.com/books?id=YFFmpK0t98UC&pg=PA133 Google Books]</ref> and he was considered a Florentine by his contemporaries as well.<ref>Richard Di Giacomo, ''The New Man and the New World: The Influence of Renaissance Humanism on the Explorers of the Italian Era of Discovery'' [Perfect Paperback], Magnifico Publications, 2002: "he was considered a Florentine by his contemporaries, and his association with the Florentine colony of merchants and bankers living in Lyons proved to be of great benefit to his career as an explorer." – [https://books.google.com/books?id=ictEu1T9PHoC&pg=PT99 Google Books]</ref> 

He signed documents employing a [[Latin]] version of his name, "''Janus Verrazanus''",{{NoteTag|The [[Christian name]] is considered nonstandard, being of [[Janus (given name)|another name]]. The typical [[Latinisation of names|Latinization]] of "John" is "''[[Johannes|'Jo(h)annes]]''".}} and he called himself "Jehan de Verrazane" in his will dated 11 May 1526 in [[Rouen]], France (preserved at the Archives départementales de la Seine-Maritime).<ref>{{cite book | last = Ballesteros-Gaibrois | first = Manuel | title = La Découverte de l'Amérique | publisher = Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin | year = 1968 | location = Paris | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ATSUwk31nzMC | page = 51 | isbn = 978-2-7116-0172-1}}</ref>

In contrast to his detailed account of his voyages to North America, little is definitively known about his personal life. After 1506, he settled in the port of [[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]], [[Kingdom of France]], where he began his career as a navigator.<ref name="Morison" />

He embarked for the American coast probably in 1508 in the company of captain [[:fr:Thomas Aubert|Thomas Aubert]], on the ship ''La Pensée'', equipped by the owner, [[Jean Ango]].<ref name="Morison">{{cite book | last = Morison | first = Samuel Eliot | author-link=Samuel Eliot Morison | title = The European Discovery of America: The Northern Voyages | url = https://archive.org/details/europeandiscover00moririch | url-access = registration | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1971 | location = New York | pages = [https://archive.org/details/europeandiscover00moririch/page/260 260–261]}}</ref> He explored the region of Newfoundland, possibly during a fishing trip, and possibly the St. Lawrence River in Canada; on other occasions, he made numerous voyages to the eastern Mediterranean.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Carolana Explorers – Giovanni Da Verrazzano|url=https://www.carolana.com/Carolina/Explorers/giovanniverrazano.html|access-date=2020-08-15|website=www.carolana.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=French Explorers {{!}} History of Western Civilization II|url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/french-explorers/|access-date=2020-08-15|website=courses.lumenlearning.com}}</ref>