Italian mountaineer and explorer (1873?1933)
Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi
, (29 January 1873 – 18 March 1933) was an Italian mountaineer and explorer, briefly
Infante of Spain
as son of
Amadeo I of Spain
, member of the royal
House of Savoy
and cousin of the Italian King
Victor Emmanuel III
.
[1]
He is known for his Arctic explorations and for his mountaineering expeditions, particularly to
Mount Saint Elias
and
K2
. He also served as an Italian admiral during
World War I
.
[2]
He created
Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi
in
Italian Somalia
during his last years of life.
Early years
[
edit
]
He was born in
Madrid
,
Spain
as the third oldest son of
Prince Amadeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta
and his first wife Donna
Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo della Cisterna
. Prince Luigi Amedeo was a grandson of
King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy
. He was born during his father's brief reign as
King Amadeo of Spain
. His siblings are
Prince Emanuele Filiberto
,
Prince Vittorio Emanuele
, and
Prince Umberto
. Shortly after his birth, his father, who had reigned in Spain since 1870, abdicated and returned to Italy in 1873. Prince Luigi Amedeo was a member of the
House of Savoy
, well known in Europe since the 12th century. His uncle became
King Umberto I of Italy
in 1878, and his cousin became
King Vittorio Emanuele III
in 1900.
The title
Duke of the Abruzzi
(
Italian
:
Duca degli Abruzzi
) was created by King Umberto I in 1890 for Luigi Amedeo, who was a son of the abdicating King of Spain Amadeus and initially was given the title of
Infante of Spain
. His ducal title referred to the central Italian region of
Abruzzo
.
From 1893 to 1896, Luigi Amedeo traveled around the world, including
Eritrea
, then an Italian possession, and
Vancouver
. In September 1893, he traveled to
Italian Somaliland
to quell the unrest and stayed for a month to guard the port of
Mogadishu
, giving him his first contact with a land to which he would later devote the last years of his life and in which he would choose to die.
[3]
He had begun to train as a mountaineer in 1892 on
Mont Blanc
and
Monte Rosa
(
Italian Alps
): in 1897 he made the first ascent of
Mount Saint Elias
(Canada/U.S., 5,489 m). There the expedition searched for a mirage, known as the Silent City of Alaska, that natives and prospectors claimed to see over a glacier. C. W. Thornton, a member of the expedition, wrote: "It required no effort of the imagination to liken it to a city, but was so distinct that it required, instead, faith to believe that it was not in reality a city."
[
citation needed
]
Arctic expedition
[
edit
]
In 1898, Prince Luigi Amedeo organized an expedition towards the
North Pole
and consulted the famous polar explorer
Fridtjof Nansen
that had sailed the furthest north with the
Colin Archer
-built polar ship
Fram
(ship)
in 1893?1896. In 1899 Amedeo acquired
Jason
, a steam
whaler
of 570 tons. He renamed her
Stella Polare
and took her to Colin Archer's shipyard in
Larvik
, Norway. The interior was stripped out and beams, diagonals and knees heavily strengthened the ship.
In the spring of 1899 he arrived in the Norwegian capital
Christiania
with ten companions and
Stella Polare
("
Pole Star
") took the expedition through the frozen sea. On 12 June they headed for
Archangel
(Arkhangelsk).
On 30 June
Stella Polare
dropped anchor in the docks of Arkhangelsk and the duke was solemnly received by Governor Engelhardt. The same day, Prince Luigi Amedeo was invited to meet the local authorities and the present foreign diplomats.
On 7 July, a local newspaper wrote:
- The city theatre arranged an extraordinary spectacle in the presence of the Duke of the Abruzzi. The drama
The princess of Baghdad
, consisting of three acts, was performed. Before the curtain was raised the orchestra had played the Italian royal anthem...
Later the duke himself wrote about his stay in Arkhangelsk: "Our departure was set for July 12. Early in the morning the church was open to us and we, although being Catholic, were allowed to join the mass. In the afternoon all the dogs were brought back on board to their kennels. In the evening the
Stella Polare
put out and was escorted by two steamers down the
Dvina
. I still remained on shore, as well as Doctor Cavalli, in order to spend the evening together with our Italian friends. Next evening we left Arkhangel’sk. During the whole journey we saw flags being hoisted to welcome us..."
Twenty men took part in the expedition, among them Captain
Umberto Cagni
, Lieutenant F. Querini and Doctor A. Cavalli Molinelli. They planned to go to
Franz Joseph Land
, in the Arctic wilderness, to establish a camp in which to stay during winter time and, afterwards, to reach the North Pole by dogsled across the frozen sea.
Prince Luigi Amedeo established the winter camp on
Rudolf Island
. The expedition was to start at the end of the Arctic night. The duke lost two fingers during winter because of the cold, which made it impossible for him to join the trip by sledge. He left the command over the pole expedition to Captain Cagni. On 11 March 1900, Cagni left the camp and reached latitude 86° 34’ on 25 April, setting
a new record
by beating Nansen's result of 1895 by 35 to 40 kilometres (22 to 25 mi). Cagni barely managed to return to the camp on 23 June. On 16 August
Stella Polare
left Rudolf Island heading south and the expedition returned to Norway. During the expedition, the northern coast of Rudolf Island and two other islands were explored and measured.
Later years
[
edit
]
In 1906, inspired by
Henry Morton Stanley
's last wishes, the Duke led an expedition to the
Ruwenzori Range
(5,125 m), in
Uganda
. He scaled sixteen summits in the range, including the six principal peaks. One of them,
Mount Luigi di Savoia
, bears his name. The highest peak was reached on 18 June 1906.
His next great expedition, in 1909, aimed to climb
K2
in
Karakoram
. A team led by Prince Luigi Amedeo reached a height of 6,250 m on the ridge. The standard route up the mountain (formerly known as K2's East Ridge) climbs today on the
Abruzzi Spur
.
[4]
[5]
In an attempt on
Chogolisa
he and his companions again failed to reach the summit, but set a
world altitude record
, a height of approximately 7,500 m (24,600 ft) before turning around just 150 m below the summit due to bad weather.
[
citation needed
]
In the Italian Navy
[
edit
]
A
vice-admiral
in the Italian Royal Navy (
Regia Marina
), he was Inspector of
Torpedo Craft
from 1911 to 1912. During
World War I
, he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Fleet (1914?1917) based in
Taranto
, his
flagship
being the
Italian battleship
Conte di Cavour
. Under the duke, the
Regia Marina
was responsible for saving the
Army
of the
Kingdom of Serbia
.
[6]
In February 1917, he was replaced by
Paolo Thaon di Revel
, under pressure from the British and French allies. In February 1918, he was promoted to admiral, but played no further role of importance.
The Explorers Club
in New York elected the duke to its highest category of membership ? Honorary Member ? in 1912.
[
citation needed
]
The duke assisted Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini
with the
Italo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928
. He traveled to
Addis Ababa
with gifts.
[7]
One gift, a
Fiat 3000
tank, ended up playing a role in crushing the abortive
coup d'etat
of 1928
.
[8]
In 1932, the duke was briefly the president of the newly merged
Italian Line
of steamships.
[6]
In 1931, combining all of Italy's transatlantic carriers into the Italian Line was one of Mussolini's biggest business deals. However, the duke resigned soon after
SS
Rex
broke down at
Gibraltar
. According to him, "My reason is that I have been unable to achieve harmony among executives who formerly headed competing lines."
[9]
Italian Somaliland
[
edit
]
In 1918, the Duke returned to
Italian Somaliland
. In 1920, he founded the "Village of the Duke of Abruzzi" (
Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi
or
Villabruzzi
) some ninety kilometres north of
Mogadishu
. It was an agricultural settlement experimenting with new cultivation techniques.
By 1926, the colony comprised 16 villages, with 3,000 Somali and 200 Italian (
Italian Somalis
) inhabitants. Abruzzi raised funds for a number of development projects in the town, including roads, dams, schools, hospitals, a church and a mosque.
He died in the village on 18 March 1933.
In the late 1930s, the village area was one of the most socio-economically developed in eastern Africa. The area around the "Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi" was the most agriculturally developed of Somalia before
World War II
and had some important food industries.
[10]
After Italian Somaliland was officially dissolved in 1947, the town was later renamed to
Jowhar
.
[11]
Personal life
[
edit
]
In the early years of the twentieth century, the Abruzzi was in a relationship with Katherine Hallie "Kitty" Elkins, daughter of the wealthy American senator
Stephen Benton Elkins
, but the Abruzzi's cousin King
Victor Emmanuel III
of Italy refused to grant him permission to marry a commoner. His brother,
Emanuele Filiberto
, to whom Luigi was very close, persuaded him to give up the relationship.
[12]
His brother later approved of young Antoinette "Amber" Brizzi, the daughter of Quinto Brizzi, one of the largest vineyard owners in Northern Italy. Despite this, Abruzzi was never officially married; however, in the later years of his life, Abruzzi had a relationship and deep romantic partnership with Faduma Ali, a young
Somali
woman who stayed by his side even while he was on his deathbed.
[13]
Scientific works
[
edit
]
- La Stella Polare nel Mare Artico 1899-1900
(1902)
- On the "Pole Star" in the Arctic Sea
(1903) by H.R.H. Luigi Amadeo of Savoy, (Duke of the Abruzzi), translated by
William Le Queux
, 2 vols.
[14]
- Osservazioni scientifiche, eseguite durante la spedizione polare di S.A.R. Luigi Amedeo di Savoia
(1903, with
Umberto Cagni
and Cavalli-Molinelli)
Animal named in honor
[
edit
]
A species of African lizard,
Leptosiaphos aloysiisabaudiae
, is named in honor of Prince Luigi Amedeo.
[15]
Honours
[
edit
]
Ancestry
[
edit
]
Ancestors of Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi
|
---|
|
See also
[
edit
]
- Picco Luigi Amedeo
, a mountain in the
Mont Blanc massif
in the
Val d'Aosta
,
Italy
- Savoia Peak
, a peak at the northeast end of
Sierra DuFief
- Luigi Island
, an island in
Franz Joseph Land
- Al Abraq, Libya
, called by the Italians as
Luigi di Savoia
- Duke of Abruzzi's Free-tailed Bat
, a species of
bat
- Abruzzi Secondary School
, Shigar, Gilgit Baltistan
- Italian cruiser Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi
, an Italian cruiser
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Luigi Amedeo Giuseppe Maria Ferdinando Francesco, duke d'Abruzzi | Spanish mountaineer"
.
- ^
Chambers Biographical Dictionary
,
ISBN
0-550-18022-2
, page 5
- ^
Tenderini & Shandrick (1997
:25)
- ^
Fanshawe, Andy; Venables, Stephen (1995).
Himalaya Alpine-Style
. Hodder and Stoughton.
ISBN
0-340-64931-3
.
- ^
Salkeld, Audrey, ed. (1998).
World Mountaineering
. Bulfinch Press.
ISBN
0-8212-2502-2
.
- ^
a
b
Time Magazine,
Milestones
- ^
Time Magazine
,
Fascist New Year
- ^
Time Magazine,
Smooth Show
- ^
Time Magazine,
Royal Resignation
- ^
Villabruzzi (in Italian)
- ^
"Luigi Amedeo Giuseppe Maria Ferdinando Francesco"
. Ultimate Italy. Archived from
the original
on 22 July 2012
. Retrieved
10 November
2013
.
- ^
Aosta very ill
- ^
A Prince of Climbers
- ^
"Review of
On the "Pole Star" in the Arctic Sea
by H.R.H. Luigi Amadeo of Savoy, (Duke of the Abruzzi), translated by William Le Queue, 2 vols"
.
The Athenaeum
(3945): 723?724. June 6, 1903.
- ^
Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011).
The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles
. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp.
ISBN
978-1-4214-0135-5
. ("Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Abruzzi", p. 6).
- ^
a
b
c
Italia : Ministero dell'interno (1900).
Calendario generale del Regno d'Italia
. Unione tipografico-editrice. pp.
53
,
55
,
67
.
- ^
Sito web del Quirinale: dettaglio decorato.
- ^
Italy. Ministero dell'interno (1920).
Calendario generale del regno d'Italia
. p.
70
.
Archived
from the original on 25 November 2021
. Retrieved
8 October
2020
.
- ^
刑部芳則 (2017).
明治時代の?章外交儀?
(PDF)
(in Japanese). 明治聖?記念??紀要. p. 149.
- ^
Shaw, Wm. A. (1906)
The Knights of England
,
I
, London,
p. 426
- ^
Sveriges Statskalender
. Liberforlag. 1905. p. 441.
- ^
American Geographical Society
- ^
Royal Thai Government Gazette
(22 January 1904).
"??????????????????????????????"
(PDF)
(in Thai). Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on March 4, 2016
. Retrieved
2019-05-08
.
- ^
"Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III"
,
Guoa Oficial de Espana
(in Spanish), 1930, p. 221,
archived
from the original on 20 June 2018
, retrieved
4 March
2019
References
[
edit
]
- Bridges, Peter,
"A Prince of Climbers"
,
Virginia Quarterly Review
, Winter 2000
- Tenderini, Mirella; Shandrick, Michael (1997).
The Duke of the Abruzzi: An Explorer's Life
. Seattle: Mountaineers Books.
ISBN
978-1-59485-895-6
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- De Filippi,
La spedizione di S.A.R. il principe Luigi Amedeo di Savoia, Duca degli Abruzzi, al Monte Sant’Elia (Alaska) 1897
(1900)
- Louis Amedee de Savoie (Duc des Abruzzes), Expedition de l’Etoile Polaire dans la Mer Arctique 1899?1900, Paris, coll. Polaires, Economica, 2004 (Preface de Giulia Bogliolo Bruna)
External links
[
edit
]
- "Fascist New Year"
.
Time Magazine
. November 5, 1928. Archived from
the original
on November 21, 2010
. Retrieved
January 19,
2010
.
- "Royal Resignation"
.
Time Magazine
. October 24, 1932. Archived from
the original
on October 27, 2010
. Retrieved
January 19,
2010
.
- "Milestones"
.
Time Magazine
. March 27, 1933. Archived from
the original
on June 4, 2011
. Retrieved
January 19,
2010
.
- "Smooth Show"
.
Time Magazine
. January 21, 1935. Archived from
the original
on November 4, 2012
. Retrieved
January 1,
2010
.
- "THE DUKE OF ABRUZZI"
.
Rwenzori Abruzzi
. Retrieved
November 11,
2013
.
- "Abruzzi, Duke of"
.
The New Student's Reference Work
. 1914.
- "Abruzzi, Prince Luigi Amadeo of Savoy-Aosta, Duke of"
.
Collier's New Encyclopedia
. 1921.
- Works by Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi
at
Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi
at
Internet Archive
Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi
Born:
29 January 1873
Died:
18 March 1933
|
Italian nobility
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New title
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Duke of the Abruzzi
1st creation
1890 ? 1933
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Vacant
Never bestowed upon till
Title next held by
Prince Amedeo Michele
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*member of a cadet branch of the House of Savoy
**
Prince of Savoy-Genoa
***
Prince of Savoy-Aosta
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