History, as we all know, is only the history according to the dictum of the present day. Each society carries out historical investigation according to the prevailing circumstances and interests of the time – it´s this to which history becomes subordinate. Dates and facts are organised and prioritised to create a determined past.
Perhaps with this in mind, we shouldn´t immediately dismiss the curious investigation which led to Ruggero Marino (author of Cristóbal Colón: el último de los templarios) and Javier Sierra (La ruta prohibida y otros enigmas de la Historia) suggesting the possibility that Christopher Columbus was in fact a Templar knight, and that he in fact arrived in America for the first time earlier than the famous date (in 1492), with special guidance from the religious Order.
According to economist Jacques de Mathieu, some of the knights of the Temple appear to have used and exploited the South American silver mines during the 12th and 13th centuries, having perhaps arrived on the trail of the lost tribes of Israel. This would certainly explain the large amount of templar silver money in Europe around that time, and the fact that the templars established the principle port for their fleet not via the Mediterranean, which would have been the obvious and natural choice, given the context of the period – but the Atlantic, in the Normandy area La Rochelle.
A further piece of evidence for this interesting hypothesis might also lie in the left corridor of the basilica of San Pedro in Rome, atop the magnificent tomb of Pope Innocent VIII – who Ruggero Marino argues was Columbus´ true father. A man with Jewish and Muslim ancestry, his secular name was Giovanni Battista Cybo, which it has been discovered originates from Cuba – the first island Columbus set foot on on that fabled voyage.
Though Inocencio VIII´s popeship started in 1484, and ended with his death in 1492 – a week before Columbus´ naves officially set sail – on the black marble of his tomb are inscribed clearly the Latin words – “His is the glory of the discovery of new worlds.”
Obviously, this could simply be a reference to the fact that the Pope, who crowned the Catholic kings during the reign of the Castilla and Aragon dynasty, helped pave the way for Columbus by persuading the Portuguese monarchy to finance the grand venture.
Perhaps you will want to pay a visit to the famous tomb when you rent apartments in Rome