Like many authors, he uses the term “discovery” in quotation marks. However, I won’t hold that one against him since that mistake is even made by the best of historians.
Marino challenges many of the well known facts about Columbus, in particular, proposing Pope Innocent VIII as the real father of Columbus. He even compares portraits of Columbus with the ones from Arano-Arrone Cybo, father of Innocent VIII. The problem is that there are not authentic portraits of Columbus. The ones out there are based on the imagination of artists.
Though the name of the book is a good one, Columbus was not a knight templar. Nevertheless, Columbus lived in between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. The only connection of Columbus with the crusades is when he suggested a new crusade to the king and queen of Spain in order to save Jerusalem from Muslim hands. This contradicts Marino’s assertion of Columbus’ “dream” of “Christians, Muslims, and Jews living in peace in a New Jerusalem” built in the New World. See Amazon’s book description .
Overall, the book is okay, but I can’t recommend it if you are looking for historical accuracy.
#marinoruggero #thelasttemplar #bookreview #columbusthelasttemplar
