Introduction
Domenico Colombo (English: Dominic Columbus, Genoese: Domenego Corombo) (1418–1496) was the father of navigator Christopher Columbus and Bartholomew Columbus. He was also a middle-class weaver.
There is speculation that the Dominican Republic, the island on which the younger Columbus first landed when reaching the New World, was named after Domenico.
Biography
Domenico was born in 1418. He had three brothers, who were called Franceschino, Giacomo and Bertino.
His father, Giovanni Colombo, had apprenticed him to the loom at age 11. Domenico, a third-generation master of his craft in Genoa, was also a shopkeeper. His position was secure and respectable in the lower middle class, but he did not have a firm work ethic. He was a poor provider but was generally liked in his community.
In the boisterous, enterprising spirit of Genoa, he worked as a cheese maker, tavern keeper and dealer in wool and wine. He married Susanna Fontanarossa. Their firstborn was Christopher, in 1451; Giovanni Pellegrino, Bartholomew, Giacomo, and daughter Bianchinetta were born after.
When he was found in financial difficulty, he was helped economically from Christopher. Forsaking the loom, two of his sons – Bartholomew and Christopher – went to the sea. If Domenico had, however, been prosperous, Christopher might have spent his entire life at a loom.
Domenico’s daughter-in-law was Filipa Moniz Perestrelo and his grandsons were Diego Columbus and Ferdinand Columbus. He also had one natural granddaughter, Maria.