Project 500

Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) 500th Anniversary Celebration

As the Club recognizes its members so does it frequently honour the famed explorer Giovanni Caboto, the great Italian mariner who landed on Canadian soil in 1497 with sons Luigi, Sebastian and Sanzio. Caboto and his 18-man crew were the first Europeans to lay claim and, on behalf of the King of England, take possession of what is today Newfoundland, Canada. In 1997, this Windsor based Club honoured the 500th anniversary of the Italian explorer's landing with an entire year of activities to celebrate the historical event.

A nine-foot high bronze statue of Caboto standing on a piece of granite from the shores where Caboto and his crew landed and generously donated by the people of Newfoundland, was erected in a piazetta surrounded by benches, trees, balustrades and bricks engraved with the names of supporters of the project.