There is also a theory that Christopher Columbus may have come from the island of Chios in Greece. Chios was under Genoese control at the time, and thus part of the Republic of Genoa, Columbus said he came from the Republic of Genoa, not necessarily Genoa itself. The island of Chios was under the Genoese rule (1346 - 1566 AD),
Columbus kept his journal in Latin and Greek instead of the Italian of Genoa. He is known to have referred to himself as "Columbus de Terra Rubra" (Columbus of the Red Earth). Chios was known for the red soil in the south of the island where mastic trees grow, and the Genoese are known to have traded with these. Columbus also wrote about the gum-mastic called mastika which comes only from Chios.
There is also a village named Pirgi in the island of Chios where to this day many of its inhabitants carry the surname "Columbus." The name Columbus is carved above many doors in the villages of Pirgi and Cimbori. A priest with the "Columbus" surname traces his ancestry on the island back over 600 years.