Born in 1778 in Zakynthos (Zante in Venetian), a Greek island that was then a Venetian possession, Ugo Foscolo was the son of an Italian father and a Greek mother. Following his father’s death, the family moved to Venice, where he learned Italian and completed his studies at the University of Padua. He joined intellectual circles and admired Napoleon, even siding with his army.

The Mayflower story has an almost mythological status in American history, particularly in the northeast of America where I grew up. Unfortunately, the story of Plymouth Colony traditionally has been told from the perspective of the Mayflower sailors. In fact, a sophisticated Native American society had long been established in Patuxet before English settlers claimed this land and renamed it Plymouth.