Columbus DNA, His True Origin

For centuries, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus has remained one of history's most stubbornly contested questions. Portugal, Catalonia, Genoa, Mallorca, Croatia, Poland — the list of claimants is long, and the arguments, until now, have been inconclusive.

Twenty-one years ago, forensic geneticist Dr. José Antonio Lorente secured rare permission to exhume the remains of Columbus, his son Hernando, and his brother Diego, held at sites in Seville. The science of the time could not deliver answers. The investigation was suspended.

Now it can be completed.

Directed by Regis Francisco López and produced by RTVE and Story Producciones, this single documentary follows the renewed forensic investigation step by step, tracing the extraction and analysis of genetic material from the exhumed remains as the research finally reaches its conclusion. The film is structured with the discipline of a procedural and the tension of a thriller, making the scientific process itself the engine of the narrative.

The result is a documentary that does not simply revisit an old debate. It resolves it. Premiering on Spain's La 1 on 12 October 2024 to an audience of over five million, Columbus DNA brings more than two decades of forensic work to a close — and may change what the history books say for good.