El Nuevo Mundo. Los viajes de Amerigo Vespucci (1497-1504)

This oversized (8.5 x 11) full-color edition is a visual treasure, compiling the complete letters and chronicles that became the greatest editorial success in the history of early printing.

The fame of Amerigo Vespucci is often reduced to the controversy over the naming of the continent. Was America "well-named," or did the Florentine astronomer snatch the glory from Columbus? El Nuevo Mundo – Los viajes de Amerigo Vespucci (1497-1504), edited by Jean-Paul Duviols, aims to look beyond this debate to recover the historical and literary genius of his travel relations.

Vespucci’s writings provided the foundation for the European imaginary of the West. This edition presents his Cartas Familiares, Mundus Novus, and Lettera, where he was the first to identify the newly found lands as a distinct continent, separate from Asia. His vivid descriptions of the "small Venice" (Venezuela), encounters with giants and cannibals, and his stay in a tropical jungle village constitute the first ethnological experiences of the American story.

By uniting documentary value with exotic narrative, Vespucci’s works can be considered the first adventure novels of European literature. This volume, enriched with period maps and illustrations, offers a rigorous look at the man who gave his name to a hemisphere and imposed scientific navigation based on the observation of the stars.