It was originally called Capo Rosso by Venetian explorer Alvise Cadamosto in 1456 on account of its reddish appearance (rosso = red in Italian).Alvise Cadamosto, "Navigatione di Messer Alvise Ca da Mosto Gentilhuomo Venetiano" originally published 1507 (as reprinted in Venice (1550), by Giovanni Battista Ramusio, ed., Primo volume delle navigationi et viaggi. p.120 Although it is sometimes found translated as Cabo Vermelho in some old Portuguese maps, Cadamosto's Italian term was largely adopted as Cabo Roxo by most Portuguese cartographers (in Portuguese, roxo = purple, so it did not sound foreign.)e.g. A.M. de Castilho (1866) Descripção e roteiro da costa occidental de Africa, desde o cabo de Espartel até o das Agulhas. Lisbon: Impresa Nacional, vol. 1 p.151
