Flavio Gioja
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.
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.
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