Giovanni da Verrazano

Giovanni da Verrazano or Verrazano, Giovanni da (circa 1480-1527?), Italian navigator, born in Val di Greve, near Florence. Entering the French maritime service, he became famous as a corsair (pirate) in raids on Spanish ships. He was commissioned by Francis I, king of France, to claim new lands for France and to seek a western sea route to China. In 1524 he reached the coast of present-day North Carolina and then explored the Atlantic coast as far north as present-day Nova Scotia. He was the first European to enter what is now New York Bay. While on a second expedition Verrazano was killed by Native Americans in Brazil. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York Harbor between Brooklyn and Staten Island is named after him.