Is Cuccaro Monferrato, in the Lombardy region, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus?
A museum dedicated to the Columbus family
Historical research never officially confirmed this claim, and therefore it is still very much a legend, but members of Christopher Columbus' family resided in Cuccaro Monferrato which is a single municipality with Lu Monferrato, in the province of Alessandria in the Lombardy region. And a museum dedicated to the Columbus family of Cuccaro has been set up in the little town.
Christopher Columbus’ father is from Cuccaro
Well, Christopher Columbus' father turns out to be, on public record as having been born in Cuccaro. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of this affair lies in the history of a legal dispute. Christopher Columbus' inheritance first passed to his son Diego, who passed it on to his eldest son Louis. The latter contested this and won this inheritance through a Spanish court, but he died in 1572 at the age of 54 in Oran, leaving no children.
A lengthy legal battle
Here a dispute arose over who should be entitled to the benefits of the will, and among the contenders was Don Baldassarre Colombo of Cuccaro Monferrato. The conclusion of the long investigation was decreed before the Council of the Indies on 22 December 1608 with the awarding of the proceeds of the will to Pedro Nuno Colòn de Portugal, a descendant of the female line of Christopher Columbus.
Tours and workshops in Cuccaro
But Baldassarre did not come out of the affair empty-handed. His connection with his famous ancestor was ascertained and he was awarded the title of count and a sum of money. And this is why today in Cuccaro to commemorate this link there is the Cescom - Centro Studi Colombiani Monferrini (the Centre for Monferrato Columbian Studies), which created the Christopher Columbus Museum in 2006. Tours and workshops exclusively with the Consorzio Sistema Monferrato and the ViA(E) per Viaggiare network. For information: https://www.sistemamonferrato.it/it/
