When New York was called “New Angoulême”

On one of the famous painted walls of Lyon appears a strange character in a green coat, a world map by his side, his hand in a visor above his eyes. After some research, this stranger turns out to be Jean de Verrazane, better known under the name of Giovanni da Verrazano, discoverer of what New York was like in 1524. Florentin by his father, he would have been born in Lyon around 1485. He would also have married in the capital of the Gauls.

The Verrazano family is said to have asked for its name to be francized. ? The few existing written records do not confirm this. But one thing is certain, on the documents he left, Jean de Verrazane signed Jean Verrazanus and not Giovanni, like …

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