Download or read book How Florence Invented America written by Giancarlo Masini and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three Florentines-Amerigo Vespucci, Giovanni da Verazzano, and Filippo Mazzei-made indispensable contributions to America's "discovery" and to the democratic ideals upon which the republic was founded. Vespucci and Verrazano, two representatives of the Renaissance, supplied the geographic conceptualization and detailed surveys of the new continent. Filippo Mazzei, a key figure of the Enlightenment, had an extensive correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, which was crucial to him in his formalization of the concept of constitutional democracy. As Giancarlo Masini and Iacopo Gori show these three sons of Florence demonstrate a unique link between Italian culture and the destiny of the United States.