Millionaire auction for the only thing that survived from Christopher Columbus’ caravel “Santa María”

Italian Roberto Mazzara, owner of a 15th century bell which he affirms with supporting documents in hand that he belonged to the caravel “Santa Maria”, hopes to find a buyer in the United States for the only object of Christopher Columbus’s first trip to America that has survived to this day.

“If they were sold for millions of dollars, the michael jackson white stockingsHow not to sell the only artefact left from the Discovery of America journey? Mazzara asks in an interview with Efe in a Miami hotel.

The former Italian naval officer and diver announced on Monday in a statement that the bell, which “there is no doubt” about its authenticitywill be sold to the highest bidder at a private Miami auction, the date of which will not be disclosed.

“If it was October 12 (anniversary of the discovery of 1492), that would be great, ”he answers evasively when asked when the auction will take place.

How much is the Santa María bell worth?

About how much he expects to get for an item that – according to Sotheby’s and Christie’s – is worth over $ 100 million, he only says the starting price will be just over $ 6 million, the same amount they offered and rejected in an electronic auction held in 2018.

His wish would be for the bell to buy him an American institution, more than a private collector, so that the public can see it on display.

Mazzara mentions the Smithsonan or the United States Library of Congress as two ideal buyers for a unique object with a long and romantic history.

“It’s worse than a novel“Says Mazzara, 60, of whom 18 lived in Spain, although now he has already been resettled in his country.

The bell has been in Miami since 2006. “Someone brought her here to keep him safe, ”he said, without giving further details, after explaining that a“ false ”theft report filed by the Portuguese state led the Spanish authorities to seize him while he was trying to seize him. auction in Madrid at the start of the 21st century.

In 2006, Portuguese attempts to seize the bell resulted in a sentence of one The court of Madrid which rejected another request of Portugal invoking a European Union regulation.

When he discovered the bell in 1994, when he found the wreckage of a Spanish ship, the “San Salvador”, sunk in 1555 On the northern coast of Portugal, he had been lost for more than 400 years, Mazzara tells EFE surrounded by copies of documents which prove that his bell is that of the ship “Santa María”, whose real name is “Lagallega” (so spelled) and It belonged to the cartographer Juan de la Cosa.

The largest ship of the three which sailed in search of a new route to reach the Indies under the command of Columbus ran aground in the north of the island of Hispaniola and the admiral ordered the construction of Fort Navidad with its remains, in which the small bronze naval bell was firmly attached to a tree.

The Journey of the Bell of Columbus

When Christopher Columbus returned at the end of 1493, he discovered that the fort had been razed by the natives of the region and the 39 Spaniards he left there were dead. The bell was saved, however, as a document found in Puerto Rico attests that it was sold for 32 pesos, a considerable sum for the time.

Mazzara discovered by a letter from Columbus’ grandson, Luis Colón, born in Puerto Rico, that the bell was shipped to “San Salvador” to bring it back to Spain along with other items related to the discovery of America.

All this he found out later after realizing that this bronze bell – a little over 10 inches in diameter which was placed on the keel of the “San Salvador” – had a exceptional historical and cultural significance it was a holdover from an event that “changed the world”.

The focus of this archaeological diver was the “San Salvador”, not the bell, which is not only the first that was in America but the oldest naval bell that has survived to this dayHe says he shows a rare eight peso silver coin also found in the wreckage.

“There are only three currencies like this in the world,” says Mazzara proudly, that what he feels most is that in Spain and Portugal no one will believe it when he said what he found out. He even offered the bell to both countries, but they did not accept it, he said.

In the end, Portugal unwittingly gave the best endorsement to its claim that the bell was that of the ship “Santa Maria”, since in one of the court documents to claim the “theft” describes it this way.

When asked what he will do with the money if the hood is sold, he says he will use it to finish developing a system to create hydroelectric power without the need for stunts that he has. designed and which can also be used to produce hydrogen.

With information from the EFE