Ramusio, Giambattista

Ramusio, Giambattista (jäm'bät–tē`stä räm`zyō), 1485–1557, Italian editor and compiler, b. Treviso. He served in diplomatic posts for the Venetian state and eventually in the Council of Ten. He is remembered for his monumental Delle navigationi e viaggi (1550–59), a collection of geographical accounts of explorations. This work provides many of the extant accounts of early voyages of exploration; it includes a fine edition of Marco Polo's account and an early description of Magellan's circumnavigation.