Page 432 - Lanzarotto Malocello from Italy to the Canary Islands

432 from Italy to the Canary Islands

he discovery of the Canary Islands, and of Lanzarote in
particular, by Lanzarotto Malocello constitutes the climax of
the transition from the Middle Ages to the new humanistic
spirit that would later give birth to the Renaissance. Classical antiquity
developed trade and diplomatic relations and policies thanks to the
techniques of navigation; when the art of navigation began to decline -
around the time of the fall of Rome - trade also began to fail, along with
human and political relations, bringing on the closed feudal economy. It
was only when the art of navigation was revived that medieval darkness
began to fade with the resumption of meetings between different
civilizations. Lanzarotto’s voyage was borne out of this new perspective
marked by the profound need to know “what is beyond”, precisely because
it was the desire to overcome the Pillars of Hercules that allowed the
fundamental discovery of the Canary Islands, which then became further
stepping stones towards even more discoveries of islands unknown until
then, bringing forth an epic age that reached its climax with the discovery
of new continents across the ocean.
Paraphrasing the first astronaut who set foot on the moon, Lanzarotto
Malocello could very well have said, “it’s one small step for me, one giant
leap for mankind”.

Marco Valerio Santonocito, Esq.
Attorney, essayist