Cabot gazes out on the Floating Harbour. It was from Bristol that he set sail in 1497 for the New World. The Italian-born mariner was christened Giovanni Caboto. Convinced that the shortest route to the Orient was westwards across the Atlantic, he sought funding in England for an exploration. Ships from Bristol had searched for the ’Island of Brasil’ beyond Iceland in the 1480s. Whether or not they reached Newfoundland, Cabot certainly did. The bronze statue was created by Stephen George.