Antonio Pigafetta (1491– legendary voyage.

1534) was an Italian painter who lived

from 1491 to 1534. Pigafetta was born
into a royal Vicenza family and educated
navigating among many other things,
according to The Diary Junction. He
served in the Knights of Rhodes galleys
and traveled to Spain with the papal
nuncio, Monsignor Chieregati.
Eventually, he traveled to the Maluku
Antonio Pigafetta took part in the
Islands with Portuguese captain
expedition to the Spice Islands
Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish
commanded by explorer Ferdinand
company. Magellan was slain and
Magellan under the banner of Emperor
Pigafetta was injured in the Philippines.
Charles V, as well as the subsequent
Despite this, he healed and was one of
voyage around the world after Magellan's
only 18 members of Magellan's original
death in the Philippine Islands. During
crew that returned to Spain on board the
the trip, he supported Magellan and kept
Victoria after completing the first
a detailed notebook, which eventually
circumnavigation of the globe. Most
helped him translate the Cebuano
significantly, [Pigafetta] preserved a
language. It is the earliest written record
journal of his travels, which is a valuable
of the language.
resource for learning about Magellan's
Role of Antonio Pigaffeta in Magellan’s Expedition

• Antonio Pigaffeta served as Magellan's assistant and kept an accurate journal

during the expedition, which later assisted him in translating the Cebuano
language. It is the first recorded document concerning the language.
• Because Pigafetta's work is important not only as a source of information about
the voyage itself, but also as an early Western description of the people and
languages of the Philippines, Pigafetta was one of only 18 men who returned to
Spain out of the approximately 240 men who set out with Magellan.
• Pigafetta's surviving journal is the source for much of what is known about
Magellan and Elcano's voyage.

Why was Pigafetta's journal not published?

• Carlo Amoretti, an Augustinian scholar, managed to translate the manuscripts.

However, because many elements were lost in translation, the translations were

deemed erroneous.

• Amoretti translated the work into a number of languages, causing mistakes to

proliferate through time.

• Pigafetta kept a meticulous diary, which has since been lost. However, Pigafetta's

narrative of the expedition, written between 1522 and 1525, has been preserved

in four manuscript versions: one in Italian and three in French.

Journal Of Magellan's Voyage.. (1852, January 1). The Library of Congress.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667606.
Journal Of Magellan's Voyage.. (1852, January 1). The Library of Congress.
https://www.wdl.org/en/item/3082/.
Antonio Pigafetta - Google Arts & Culture. (n.d.). Google Arts & Culture.
https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/antonio-pigafetta/m048qc5?hl=en.
About Antonio Pigafetta - The Philippine Diary Project. (2021, March 20). The Philippine Diary
Project. https://philippinediaryproject.com/about-the-philippine-diary-project/about-the-
diaries/about-antonio-pigafetta/.