From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Domenico Colombo (1418-1496) was the father of the Christopher Columbus and Bartolomeo Columbus^{[citation needed]}. He was also a weaver.

He was born in 1418. He had 3 brothers, Franceschino, Giacomo and Bertino. His father, Giovanni Colombo, had apprenticed his son, Domenico, to the loom at age 11. Domenico, a third-generation master of his craft in Genoa, Italy, was also a shopkeeper. His secure, respectable position in the lower middle class did not, however, guarantee his having a firm work ethic. Despite, or because of, having fingers in several problems, he was a poor provider and a worse credit risk, yet a pleasant, well-liked fellow withal. The transactions of Domenico, that he was carder and lanaiolo, proceeded with alternate fortunes: he had opened one tavern to Savona, trading also with the wool and travelling continuously. He was also in the commerce of wines and other kinds, let alone in the sale of asses and lands. When he was found in financial difficulty, he was helped economically from Christopher. Forsaking the loom, two of his sons-Bartholomew and Christopher-went to sea. If Domenico had, however, been prosperous, Christopher might have spent his entire life at a loom.

He lived in a house to the Plan of Sant'Andrea. In the Straight Alley, in the quarter of Ponticello, neighbor to the Door of Sant' Andrea, call also Soprana Door. In this house, Domenico died in 1496.

The city of Santo Domingo therefore was called from the Admiral in memory of his father Domenico (Domingo in Spanish).