Bernardo de la Torre or della Torres (died 1545) was a Spanish explorer during the Age of Discovery. He participated in Ruy López de Villalobos's failed expedition to establish a greater Spanish presence in the East Indies. Stuck for months on the eastern side of Mindanao, the expedition ran low on supplies, suffered repeated accidents, and was discovered and ordered to leave by the Portuguese. López de Villalobos sent De la Torre east across the Pacific Ocean to seek supplies and reinforcements from Mexico. Attempting a new northern route, De la Torre discovered the Volcano Islands—which he named after an eruption active as he passed—before being forced to turn back from lack of water and high storm waves. During this return voyage, his ship became the first known to have circumnavigated Mindanao.
De la Torre is sometimes further claimed to have named Mindanao Caesarea Caroli in honor of the Habsburg emperor Charles V; to have named Leyte and Samar the Philippines in honor of the crown prince Philip (later King Philip II of Spain); to have named Iwo Jima Sulfur Island, eventually leading to its current Japanese name; to have discovered the Bonin Islands; and to have explored the northern coast of New Guinea.
