voyage to the New World. Toscanelli had miscalculated Asia as being 5,000 miles longer than it really was, and Columbus miscalculated the circumference of the Earth by 25 percent: both of which resulted in Columbus not realizing initially he had found a new continent. Toscanelli lived most of his life in Florence, with occasional excursions to Todi and Rome. He is said to have entered into correspondence with scholars around Europe, but his writings have yet to be thoroughly researched. An uncorroborated story links Toscanelli’s attendance at a Chinese delegation to the Pope in 1432, when many Chinese inventions were discussed, with a flood of drawings made around the same year by the artist-engineer Taccola (1382 – c.1453), which were later developed by Brunelleschi and Leonardo da Vinci. In a 1474 letter by Toscanelli to Columbus, the authenticity of which has been a matter of disagreement among scholars, Toscanelli mentions the visit of men from Cathay (China) during the reign of Pope Eugenius IV (1431–1447): It has been suggested that the man in question may have been Niccolo da Conti, who was returning from the east and is known to have met with Pope Eugenius in 1444. In a second letter, Toscanelli describes further these men as extremely learned and willing to share their knowledge: In 1475 he pierced a hole in the dome of Florence Cathedral at above the pavement to create a meridian line. The height precluded the installation of a complete meridian line of the floor of the cathedral, but allowed a short section of approximately to run between the main altar and the north wall of the transept. This allows for observation for around 35 days either side of the summer equinox. See also The Pinzon Brothers Juan de la Cosa References Citations Bibliography Armando Cortesão, Cartografia Portuguesa Antiga, Lisboa, 1960. Armando Costesão, História da Cartografia Portuguesa, 2 vols., Lisboa, 1969–1970. Davidson, Miles H. Columbus then and now: a life reexamined University of Oklahoma Press, 1997 G. Uzielli, La Vita e i tempi di Paolo di Pozo Toscanelli, Roma 1894. Quinn, David B. Quinn The European Outthrust and Encounter: The First Phase c. 1400–c. 1700 Liverpool University Press, 1994 Markam, Clements R. Journal of Christopher Columbus (During His First Voyage, 1492–93) and Documents Relating to the Voyages of John Cabot and Gaspar Corte Real Ayer Publishing, 1972 Rahn Phillips, Carla The Worlds of Christopher Columbus Cambridge