Description of the attraction
The Alpine Museum of the Duke of Abruzzi, located in one of the houses of the town of Courmayeur in the Italian region of Val d'Aosta, was opened in 1929 at the initiative of Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Abruzzi. At the same time, a commemorative plaque was inaugurated in honor of Alessio Fenoye, the guide-guide.
Opened in the early 20th century and dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Courmayeur Mountain Guides Society, the museum is housed in the recently renovated historic Guides House. His rooms have been furnished according to the tastes of the era. Today in the museum you can see interesting photographs and exhibitions dedicated to the history of the development of the mountains.
The Alpine Museum of the Duke of Abruzzi occupies two floors. The ground floor houses the offices of the Alpine guides and a 3D map of the majestic Mont Blanc massif, some historical photographs and old ice axes. In the "glass office" you can see a collection of books about mountain shelters and conquered peaks, with notes made by climbers and their guides. Some of these books are of particular interest, since the notes in them were made during the first ascents of the Alpine four-thousanders. Equally noteworthy are the poles with which the Courmayeur mountain guides (Grievel, Pennar, Ottoz) stormed the southern slopes of Aijui Noir in Petri in the 1930s. The Glass Study was designed by the architect Aldo Cosmacini and its vaults were painted by the Valdostan artist Franco Balan.
The halls on the second floor display photographs of the Alpine routes (taken in cooperation with the government of the Autonomous Region of Val d'Aosta), and part of the exhibition is devoted to the polar expedition undertaken by the Duke of Abruzzi in 1900 and materials illustrating the development of mountaineering and rock climbing techniques.
