On this Date in Minnesota History: August 22

August 22, 1948 – The Minnesota Department of Conservation erected a memorial to Italian explorer Giacomo Constantino Beltrami near the site in 1823 where he ended his search for the source of the Mississippi River.¹ He named the place Giulia (now Lake Julia) after a departed friend, Giulia Spada dei Medici, and named eight other nearby lakes after her children.<sup>2

1</sup>http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6Y1P_Giacomo_Constantino
²http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giacomo_Beltrami

Marker:

“Giacomo Constantino Beltrami

At a point near this site in 1823, Beltrami, an Italian explorer, ended his search  for the source of the Mississippi River. His long, difficult journey across wilderness spaces terminated on the shore of the nearby lake, which he named “Julia.” His observations here convinced him that this lake was the most northern or true source of the river. Lake Itasca, now known to be the true source of the Mississippi, Beltrami called the western source.”

http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=da6b338a-6096-428f-b77b-48bc1e96ce06