where was columbus from

Christopher Columbus is most widely accepted to have been born in Genoa, Italy, around 1451. His original name was Cristoforo Colombo, and documentation such as notarial records and commercial contracts link him to Genoa. Columbus himself referred to Genoa as "his homeland" in a letter from 1493. However, there are competing theories about his origin, including claims that he was Portuguese, Spanish (particularly from the Galicia or Valencia regions), or of Jewish descent living in Spain, but the Genoese origin remains the most accepted official version among historians.