Flavio Gioja
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flavio Gioja or Gioia (fl. 1302) was an Italian mariner and inventor.
Allegedly born in Amalfi (his birthplace is sometimes given as Positano or Naples), Gioia was a marine pilot who has been credited with perfecting the sailor's compass by suspending its needle over a fleur-de-lis design, which pointed north. He also enclosed the needle in a little box with a glass cover. He is sometimes credited with inventing the sailor's compass, but it had been in use long before by Mediterranean navigators.[1]
Marco Polo is thought to have introduced its use 40 years previously.[citation needed]
Gioia is said to have introduced the fleur-de-lis design in deference to Charles of Anjou, the French king of Naples.[2]
The lunar crater Gioja is named after him.
