Domenico was born in 1418. He was the son of Giovanni Colombo and Angela Fontana. He had three brothers, who were called Franceschino, Giacomo and Bertino.[1][2]
His father 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.[3] Their firstborn was Cristoforo,[4] in 1451; sons Giovanni Pellegrino, Bartolomeo,[5] Giacomo (also called Diego),[6] and daughter Bianchinetta were born after.
When he was found in financial difficulty, he was helped economically by Christopher. Forsaking the loom, two of his sons – Bartholomew and Christopher – went to the sea.
^Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (1993 ed.). pp. 605ff. Morison. Christopher Columbus (1955 ed.). pp. 14ff.
^Phillips, William D.; Rahn Phillips, Carla (1992). The Worlds of Christopher Columbus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 9. Even with less than a complete record, however, scholars can state with assurance that Columbus was born in the Republic of Genoa in northern Italy, although perhaps not in the city itself, and that his family made a living in the wool business as weavers and merchants... The two main early biographies of Columbus have been taken as literal truth by hundreds of writers, in large part because they were written by individuals closely connected to Columbus or his writings. Both biographies have serious shortcomings as evidence.
^Ra Gerusalemme deliverâ [Jerusalem Delivered] (in Ligurian). Genoa. 1745. p. XV-32.
