Who was the Italian explorer whose travels to the Americas in 1492 were funded by Spain and started the awareness of the new world

Christopher Columbus. He was an italian navigator and explorer, who traveled across the Atlantic Ocean under the order and support of the Catholica Monarchs from Spain. He left Spain with 3 ships (the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa María) in August, 1492 and arrived in the Americas on October, 12th (thus, the Columbus Day celebration). As a consequence of his expeditions, the concept of the awareness of the new world came up, as it was the opening door of a period of exploration, colonization and conquest.