Alberto Maria de Agostini

Contents

Alberto Maria de Agostini (2 November 1883 – 25 December 1960) was an Italian missionary priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco, born in Pollone, Piedmont, who worked as a mountaineer, explorer, geographer, ethnographer, photographer, and cinematographer.

De Agostini spent most of his working life as a missionary in Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia, where he reached several mountain peaks, glaciers, and sounds for the first time and took part in the first full crossing of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, in 1931. In 1941 he was the first to write about the Cueva de las Manos rock art site. His photographs of the Tehuelche, Alacaluf, and Selknam peoples are considered an important record of groups that have since largely disappeared, and he was among the first to use aerial and colour photography in the region. He wrote several books and made a documentary film on Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. The Alberto de Agostini National Park, in Chilean Tierra del Fuego, is named after him.

Life

De Agostini lived as a missionary in Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia, between Chile and Argentina, where he was the first person to reach several mountain peaks, glaciers, and sounds, and discovered others, some of which were later named after him.

In January–February 1931, he, Egidio Feruglio, and the alpine mountain guides Croux and Bron were the first to fully cross the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, travelling from Lago Viedma in Argentina to the Patagonian channels on the Pacific coast of Chile and back.

In 1941, he was the first to write about Cueva de las Manos.[1][2]

He also sustained a long and deep relationship with the native peoples of Tierra del Fuego.

According to Chile's national library, his photographs of the Tehuelche, Alacaluf, and Selkʼnam are an important record of peoples that have since largely disappeared. He was also among the first to use aerial and colour photography in the region, and his aerial photographs aided the cartographic survey of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.[3]

He also left behind several books and written works in Italian, German, and Spanish, a collection of photographs, and a documentary film,[4][5] all devoted to Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and the Fuegian peoples.

He died in Turin on Christmas Day, 1960.

The Alberto de Agostini National Park, in the western part of Tierra del Fuego, is named after him.

Published works

Books

  • I miei viaggi nella Terra del Fuoco. Turin: G.B. Paravia, 1928.[6]
  • Guía Turística de Magallanes y Canales Fueguinos. Punta Arenas, Chile: published by the author, 1946.[7]
  • Guía Turística de los Lagos Australes Argentinos y Tierra del Fuego. Buenos Aires: Talleres Gráficos de la Publitipografía Isa de Vicente, 1945.[7]
  • El Cerro Lanín y sus alrededores: Parque nacional. Turin, 1941.[7]
  • Ande Patagoniche: viaggi di esplorazione alla Cordigliera Patagonica australe. Milan: Istituto Geografico De Agostini, 1949.[8]
  • Trent'anni nella Terra del Fuoco. Turin: SEI, 1955.[9]
  • Sfingi di ghiaccio: la scalata dei monti Sarmiento e Italia nella Terra del Fuoco. Turin: Ilte, 1958.[10]

Films

References

  1. 1.Gutiérrez De Angelis, Marina; Winckler, Greta; Bruno, Paula; Guarini, Carmen (2019). "Rethinking Paleolithic Visual Culture throughout immersive technology: The site "Cueva de las Manos" as a virtual "Denkraum" (Patagonia, Argentina)". View. Theories and Practices of Visual Culture (25). Widok. Foundation for Visual Culture. doi:10.36854/widok/2019.25.2081. hdl:11336/168949. ISSN 2300-200X. S2CID 229288678.
  2. 2.Podestá, María Mercedes; Raffino, Rodolfo A.; Paunero, Rafael Sebastián; Rolandi, Diana S. (2005). El arte rupestre de Argentina indígena: Patagonia (in Spanish). Grupo Abierto Communicaciones. ISBN 978-987-1121-16-8.
  3. 3."Alberto de Agostini (1883–1960)". Memoria Chilena, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile. Archived from the original on 13 January 2026. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  4. 4."1915–1928 Patagonia – Alberto Maria De Agostini | La redPEA en acción" (in Spanish). UNESCO. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  5. 5.[5.2]"Images of a Lost World. Fr. Alberto Maria De Agostini (1883–1960): Man, Nature, Art, Science". Museo Casa Don Bosco. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  6. 6."I miei viaggi nella Terra del Fuoco". Open Library. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  7. 7.[7.2][7.3]"Guía Turística de Magallanes y Canales Fueguinos" (in Spanish). Centro Cultural Argentino de Montaña. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  8. 8."Ande patagoniche. Viaggi di esplorazione alla cordigliera patagonica e australe" (in Italian). IBS. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  9. 9."Trent'anni nella Terra del Fuoco" (in Italian). AbeBooks. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  10. 10."Sfingi di ghiaccio. La scalata dei monti Sarmiento e Italia nella Terra del Fuoco" (in Italian). Equilibri Libreria Torino. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  11. 11."Terre magellaniche (1933)". IMDb. 26 May 1933.