Named in 1976 for the courageous Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazano, who, in the ship La Dauphine under a commission from King Francis I of France, explored the Atlantic coastline of North America in the spring of 1524 while searching in vain for a route to Asia. His crew of 50 included his brother, the map maker Girolamo da Verrazano. Some historians believe he came ashore near here and called the land Arcadia because of the beauty of the trees.