Area 11
WALTER BONATTI
Certainly this goes for his amazing exploits: from the north face of the Grandes Jorasses scaled at just 19 years of age to his solitary winter ascent of the Matterhorn, along with the Grand Capucin, “the “impossible” Dru, and the expeditions in the Karakoram and the Andes.
His successful battle to get the truth known about the “K2 case”, fought until the wrong done to him then was publicly righted and recognised, is also unique.
Moreover, Bonatti is unique for how he was able to transfuse the spirit of mountaineering into his “second life” as an explorer-reporter; for how he intuited the link between the harshness of the mountains and Earth’s primordial places, pushing himself to his limits before returning to recount them.
For decades, he accompanied us among glaciers and forests, deserts and volcanoes; with his words and images he truly “froze emotions” allowing everyone to share them with him.
It is impossible to exhibit such a treasure in its entirety: in this space, we have chosen to recount, through a number of pointers, the continuity running through Bonatti’s “two lives” and his ability to engage us in both.
His offerings are never simple portraits, but fully lived moments: even in his photographs – still images by definition – Bonatti always seems to be moving towards some goal or marvel, immersed in his enthusiasm and effort. He is never detached: he takes his dreams seriously, and challenges his limits in full awareness.
He always reveals the small man’s wonder and respect in the presence of grandiose nature. His dedication and the freedom he is bursting with are part of what he succeeds in transmitting to us, and they still feel as present and fascinating to us as ever.
The Walter Bonatti Archive, donated to the Museum in 2016 by his heirs, is as rich as his experiences: mountaineering material, notes and typescript manuscripts, interviews and films, decorations and documents, 60 years of correspondence and press cuttings. And about 110,000 photographs.
It is impossible to exhibit such a treasure in its entirety: in this space, we have chosen to recount, through a number of pointers, the continuity running through Bonatti’s “two lives” and his ability to engage us in both.
His offerings are never simple portraits, but fully lived moments: even in his photographs – still images by definition – Bonatti always seems to be moving towards some goal or marvel, immersed in his enthusiasm and effort. He is never detached: he takes his dreams seriously, and challenges his limits in full awareness.
He always reveals the small man’s wonder and respect in the presence of grandiose nature. His dedication and the freedom he is bursting with are part of what he succeeds in transmitting to us, and they still feel as present and fascinating to us as ever.
Other halls
Area 5
WINTER MOUNTANEERING
The most extreme boundary is winter mountaineering, which originated on Uja di Mondrone in December 1874 with the ascent of Castagneri, Martelli and Vaccarone. Climbing the mountains in the most unfavourable season meant breaking the final taboo of valley...
Area 6
SKIING AND WINTER SPORTS
Skiing did not originate as recreation, but as a means for moving over the snow for the populations of north Europe. Known and practised in the north for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years, skiing arrived in the Alps only at the end of the 19th century, when...
Area 7
MOUNTAINS OUTSIDE EUROPE
The most truthful representation of the dimensions of the Himalayas is offered by the east face of Monte Rosa, which dominates the Macugnaga valley and the plain around Novara. But the day came when not even the Monte Rosa was enough to satisfy the mountaineers. With...
Area 8
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
For almost a thousand years, Alpine civilisation developed in a balanced equilibrium between nature and culture. Man drew resources from the environment without ever going beyond the limits of the resources themselves. With 19th- and 20th-century industrialisation,...
Area 9
PIACENZA COLLECTION
Mario Piacenza was born in 1884 at Pollone, near Biella, not far from Turin, into a family of industrialists dedicated to wool manufacturing from several generations. He carried out various activities in the field of mountaineering and was also the director of the...
Area 10
THE TURIN 2006 OLYMPIC MUSEUM
In 2006, on the occasion of the XX Winter Olympic Games and the IX Winter Paralympic Games, Turin and its valleys experienced a moment of great appreciation and were at the centre of international attention. The Museomontagna conserves the memory of the sports events...
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