4th International Congress of Columbian Studies

The 4th International Congress of Columbian Studies was held on 22 October 2026 at Palazzo Lascaris, seat of the Piedmont Regional Council, on via Alfieri 15 in Turin. The meeting was organised by the Centro Studi Colombiani Monferrini (CESCOM), which for thirty years has been researching a possible link between Christopher Columbus and the ancient feudal dynasty of the Colombo family of Cuccaro Monferrato, in the Alessandria area, as an alternative to the traditional Genoese origin of the navigator, born in Genoa in 1451. Twelve Italian and Spanish scholars took part in the congress ^[1].

CESCOM's research

According to the thesis put forward by the centre, Columbus may have belonged to the feudal Colombo family of Cuccaro Monferrato; CESCOM has also reconstructed the family ties of the navigator's mother, Marietta, said to belong to the family of the marquises of Ceva, lords of Lesegno. The centre, which in 2006 opened in Cuccaro Monferrato the only Italian museum dedicated to Columbus's origins, says it has made around 1,200 pages of documents and scholarly contributions available to researchers ^[1][2]. CESCOM's president, Giorgio Casartelli Colombo di Cuccaro, who presents himself as a descendant of the family of the discoverer of America, said: "The historian's work cannot be separated from documents: today we know far more than thirty years ago, and Columbus's possible Monferrato origins must be taken seriously" ^[1][2].

How the congress unfolded

After opening remarks from the chair of the Piedmont Regional Council, Davide Nicco, and from CESCOM's president, the first session, from 9am to 1pm, was dedicated to Columbus's DNA, voyage and origins. Among the topics covered, the event's curator Giorgio Enrico Cavallo identified Cardinal Raffaele Riario della Rovere as a key figure, presented as Columbus's cousin through his mother Marietta and as a go-between linking the navigator and the pope; two sailors, Michele Balestrero of Fubine and Secondo Cornacchia of Vignale Monferrato, were also mentioned, alongside fifteenth- and sixteenth-century navigation techniques and the question of genetic analysis, whose reliability has been debated in recent years ^[1][2]. A section of the congress, led by Fabrizio Nucera Giampaolo, was dedicated to relations with Spain, ties with Queen Isabella the Catholic, and questions of inheritance law linked to Columbus's entailed estate (maggiorasco) ^[2].

Institutional comment

Davide Nicco called CESCOM's hypothesis "fascinating", adding: "If the historical reconstructions are confirmed, we will be able to say, with a touch of pride, that Piedmontese blood also ran in Christopher Columbus's veins," and stressed that the research represents "an important cultural heritage for our region" ^[2]. The reconstruction put forward by the centre remains a historical thesis to be verified through sources and scholarly debate, as acknowledged by the congress's own organisers ^[1].

Related articles: Centro Studi Colombiani Monferrini, Hypotheses on Christopher Columbus's Piedmontese origins (October 2026), Study on the Piedmontese origins of Christopher Columbus, Study on the Piedmontese origins of Christopher Columbus presented at Palazzo Lascaris (October 2026), The Centro Studi Colombiani Monferrini presents research on Christopher Columbus's Piedmontese origins at Palazzo Lascaris (22 October 2026)

Sources

1. Cristoforo Colombo era piemontese? — Quotidiano Piemontese, 20 October 2026
2. “Cristoforo Colombo aveva origini piemontesi”, uno studio ricostruisce la genealogia del navigatore — la Repubblica Torino, 23 October 2026