‘What was the historical and cultural environment in which Columbus’ great design took form? Who was the sailor from Genoa who linked his name to the discovery of the new world? How did the idea of the journey come about in Columbus? What drove him to go towards the unknown? The exhibition put together by the greatest expert on Columbus, Prof. Paolo Emilio Taviani, tries to answer all these questions. The exhibition contains: triptychs with the reproduction of some passages from Columbus’ diary (photograph of the original, notes in Spanish, Italian translation); authentic weapons and nautical instruments; the code of the privileges granted by the Castilian royals to the discoverer of the Western Indies; portraits of Columbus alone and with Vespucci, and a map of the town of Genoa in 1400, kindly lent by the Naval Museum in Pegni.’