Amerigo Vespucci – The man who gave America its name

Everyone knows Columbus, no one knows Vespucci. Nevertheless, Vespucci’s first name “Amerigo” became the namesake for America, which was discovered in 1492. How did this come about? And who was this little-known Italian? A swindler, as was later often claimed? Or a daring navigator who only realized what Columbus had discovered? Eike Schmitz, the film director of Amerigo Vespucci – The Man Who Gave America Its Name, presents the director’s cut of his primetime documentary for the first time and answers questions from the audience after the screening.

Eike Schmitz is a director, film producer and screenwriter as well as head of the television production company Atlantis-Film, which he founded in 1987. His work focuses on historical documentaries, which he has produced as part of the ZDF documentary series TerraX, among others.