In the archive of Verrazzano Castle in Greve in Chianti, Professor Stefaan Missinne, discoverer of the da Vinci Globe dating from 1504, stumbled upon the 500-year-old travel report by the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano. This led to Windsor Castle, where the only world map dating from c. 1515 portraying an open seaway between Florida, as an island, and Newfoundland, was found among the papers of Leonardo da Vinci. Verrazzano did meet with Magellan in Seville in 1517 prior to his historical departure, but did Leonardo, while living in France between 1516 and 1519, influence his young royal employer and his Tuscan compatriot in any way? Astonishingly, the families of Verrazzano and da Vinci had been neighbors in Florence. In this reassessment of Verrazzano´s travel report, the author offers new evidence on Leonardo and Verrazzano. The Codex Cèllere, at the Pierpont Morgan Library, now takes its rightful place as New York´s literary birth certificate.

In the archive of Verrazzano Castle in Greve in Chianti, Professor Stefaan Missinne, discoverer of the da Vinci Globe dating from 1504, stumbled upon the 500-year-old travel report by the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano. This led to Windsor Castle, where the only world map dating from c. 1515 portraying an open seaway between Florida, as an island, and Newfoundland, was found among the papers of Leonardo da Vinci. Verrazzano did meet with Magellan in Seville in 1517 prior to his historical departure, but did Leonardo, while living in France between 1516 and 1519, influence his young royal employer and his Tuscan compatriot in any way? Astonishingly, the families of Verrazzano and da Vinci had been neighbors in Florence. In this reassessment of Verrazzano ́s travel report, the author offers new evidence on Leonardo and Verrazzano. The Codex Cèllere, at the Pierpont Morgan Library, now takes its rightful place as New York ́s literary birth certificate.

A chance discovery at a distinguished London map fair in 2012 by a Belgian globe collector produced the most unique of finds: a distinct globe with mysterious images, such as old ships, sailors, a volcano, a hybrid monster, pentimenti, waving patterns, conic individualised mountains, curving rivers, vigorous coastal lines, chiaroscuro and an unresolved triangular anagram, which remains an enigma. The globe is hand-engraved in great detail on ostrich egg shells from Pavia by a left-handed Renaissance genius of unquestionable quality. It shows secret knowledge of the map world from the time of Columbus, Cabral, Amerigo Vespucci and Leonardo da Vinci. Central and North America are covered by a vast ocean. The da Vinci globe originates from Florence and dates from 1504. It marks the first time ever that the names of countries such as Brazil, Germania, Arabia and Judea have appeared on a globe. A Leonardo drawing for this globe, showing the coast of the New World and Africa has been discovered in the British Library. This book brings the reader through a fabulous journey of scholars, maps, riddles, rebuses, iconographic symbols and enigmatic phrases such as HIC SVNT DRACONES to illuminate the da Vinci globe. It details 500 years of mystery, fine scholarship and expert forensic testing at numerous material science laboratories the world over. The da Vinci globe now takes its rightful place, surpassing the Lenox globe, its copper-cast identical twin, as the most mysterious globe of our time. As such, this monograph is an essential text in Leonardo studies and in the history of cartography.

“Bad behavior makes for entertaining history” in this bold history of Europe, the Middle East, and the men who ruled them in the early sixteenth century (Kirkus Reviews). John Julius Norwich—“the very model of a popular historian”—is acclaimed for his distinctive ability to weave together a fascinating narrative through vivid detail, colorful anecdotes, and captivating characters. Here, he explores four leaders—Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, and Suleiman—who led their countries during the Renaissance (The Wall Street Journal). Francis I of France was the personification of the Renaissance, and a highly influential patron of the arts and education. Henry VIII, who was not expected to inherit the throne but embraced the role with gusto, broke with the Roman Catholic Church and appointed himself head of the Church of England. Charles V was the most powerful man of the time, and unanimously elected Holy Roman Emperor. And Suleiman the Magnificent—who stood apart as a Muslim—brought the Ottoman Empire to its apogee of political, military, and economic power. These men collectively shaped the culture, religion, and politics of their respective domains. With remarkable erudition, John Julius Norwich offers “an important history, masterfully written,” indelibly depicting four dynamic characters and how their incredible achievements—and obsessions with one another—changed Europe forever (The Washington Times).

Da Vinci Code meets Mission Impossible in this exciting international murder mystery and historical suspense thriller. Successful non-fiction author MARK VINET presents his debut novel "The Maesta Panels", an intelligently crafted page-turner about family, greed and intrigue. Embark on an incredible journey from NYC's Empire State Building to Northern Italy in the search for religious art treasures that have been lost for centuries... the Maesta Panels. American investigator David Wade and his global team of fascinating experts, Denary, criss-cross the Italian jewel cities of Milan, Siena, Bologna, Padua and Florence (Tuscany) on a dangerous mission to solve an early renaissance enigma amidst violence, betrayal and witchcraft. Beautiful fashion designer Julia Cartier is also caught up in the action and determined to help solve the puzzle of the missing masterpieces. This fast-paced adventure turns back the clock to the year 1302--a world on the brink of rebirth--a Renaissance in ideas, art and architecture led by the Masters Duccio and Giotto in the lands of Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, Botticelli, Brunelleschi, Medici, Galileo, Dante, Borgia, and Machiavelli.

*National Bestseller* A sweeping account of America's oldest unsolved mystery, the people racing to unearth its answer, and the sobering truths--about race, gender, and immigration--exposed by the story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. In 1587, 115 men, women, and children arrived at Roanoke Island on the coast of North Carolina. Chartered by Queen Elizabeth I, their colony was to establish England's first foothold in the New World. But when the colony's leader, John White, returned to Roanoke from a resupply mission, his settlers were nowhere to be found. They left behind only a single clue--a "secret token" carved into a tree. Neither White nor any other European laid eyes on the colonists again. What happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke? For four hundred years, that question has consumed historians and amateur sleuths, leading only to dead ends and hoaxes. But after a chance encounter with a British archaeologist, journalist Andrew Lawler discovered that solid answers to the mystery were within reach. He set out to unravel the enigma of the lost settlers, accompanying competing researchers, each hoping to be the first to solve its riddle. Thrilling and absorbing, The Secret Token offers a new understanding not just of the first English settlement in the New World but of how the mystery and significance of its disappearance continues to define and divide our country.