Lancelotto Malocello

Lancelotto Malocello (Italian pronunciation: [lantʃeˈlɔtto maloˈtʃɛllo]) (Latin: Lanzarotus Marocelus; French: Lancelot Maloisel; fl. 1312) was a Genoese navigator, who gave his name to the island of Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands. Lancelotto is the Italian form of the proper name Lancelot.

The Genoese navigator Lancelotto Malocello is credited with the rediscovery of the Canary Islands in 1312; the island first appeared on a European map of Angelino Dulcert (the Dulcert Atlas) in 1339 under the name "Ínsula de Lançarote Mallucellus" (island of Lancelotto Malocello), later shortened to "Lanzarote". The island's native name was Tyterogaka.

Malocello may have voyaged in search of the brothers Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi, who had sailed to the Canary Islands in 1291 on their way to India, and whose fate was unknown. Malocello arrived on the island in 1312, and remained there for almost two decades until he was expelled by a Guanche revolt. Information about this revolt is scanty, but his stay on the island is supported by various sources, including the chronicles of the Norman conquest of the island under Jean de Bethencourt almost a century later, which state that the fortress constructed by Malocello could still be found on the island. Malocello's fortress was situated above Teguise.

At the time of Malocello's arrival, a king named Zonzamas ruled the island. Ico, his daughter, and Guanarame, her consort, succeeded Zonzamas. Their son Guadarfia was the ruler who would greet the expedition of Jean de Bethencourt in 1402.

To celebrate the seventh centenary of the discovery of Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands by the Italian navigator Lanzarotto Malocello, which took place in 1312, promoters formed two committees, one in Spain and one in Italy. The committees sponsored various events in Rome, Varazze, Brussels, Strasbourg, Madrid and Lanzarote, among other cities.

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