WALTER BONATTI
The rediscovered comics
Walter Bonatti: a legend of mountaineering, tireless explorer, photographer, and storyteller capable of transforming his feats into immortal tales.
The memory of such a rich life is preserved in his archive, kept at the Museomontagna: a vast treasure trove of documents, images, and objects. From the Museum’s meticulous work of organizing, digitizing, and enhancing this collection, new materials continue to emerge, revealing ever-new facets of this unique figure—an inexhaustible source of inspiration and awe.
The new exhibition produced by the Museomontagna is dedicated precisely to one of Bonatti’s lesser-known and most surprising sides. In fact, Walter Bonatti became a comic book character over thirty years ago. He did so not only by inspiring artists and writers with his adventures, but also by directly collaborating with them, in an evocative dialogue between lived experience and graphic imagination.
The exhibition Walter Bonatti – The Rediscovered Comics and the eponymous book published by RCS Solferino, both curated by journalist Angelo Ponta, explore this theme for the first time, offering a journey through illustrations, sketches, and scripts. From the Pilone Centrale to the Great North of America, from Africa to the oceans, these drawings and stories once again show how the “character” Bonatti was able to transcend the boundaries of the mountains to become a popular icon. This story speaks not only to mountaineering enthusiasts but to anyone who loves adventure, comics, and stories that can “capture emotions.”
The exhibition is complemented by a video by NEO [Narrative Environment Operas], based on the comic book series Alone on the Yukon and In the Heart of Africa, curated by Fabia Molteni, Cinzia Rizzo, and Franco Rolle.
On the occasion of the exhibition, the heirs of Enea Riboldi (1954–2025) have donated to the Museomontagna the original printing plates and sketches created by the Milanese illustrator for the first comic book dedicated to Walter Bonatti’s adventures.
