The discovery of the Dolomites

Meeting with Luigi Tassi. With Paolo Tassi. Entrance by reservation

Paul Grohmann is the one who delivered to history the account of the first great explorations of the Dolomites.

When his Wanderungen in den Dolomiten (Walks in the Dolomites, 1877) appeared in bookstores, there were still unnamed walls in this sector of the Alps, which the Austrian Grohmann, accompanied by guides who have become famous in the history of mountaineering, such as Franz Innerkofler and Peter Salcher and the Ampezzani Francesco Lacedelli and Santo Siorpaes, climbed, described, and made known to the world.

Almost one hundred and fifty years after Grohmann's first publication, Luigi Tassi in The Discovery of the Dolomites traces the origins of Dolomite mountaineering through a new Italian edition. Between remote valleys and ancient mountain paths, the pioneering world of alpine guides, surveyors, and explorers who paved the way for modern knowledge of the Dolomite mountains emerges.

Tassi, aided by a rich historical and iconographic apparatus, deepens the cultural and geographical context of the time, through texts dedicated to fundamental figures such as John Ball, Déodat de Dolomieu and Grohmann himself, a key player in the season that led to the conquest of many of the most famous alpine peaks. A work dedicated to the history of mountaineering, the memory of the highlands, and the birth of modern Dolomite exploration. 

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Luigi Tassi is an author, photographer, and documentarian. He has been visiting the mountains for over thirty years, dedicating himself to hiking, mountaineering, and studying their history. He has published books and articles dedicated to the culture and exploration of the Dolomites. Through research, photography, and audiovisual production, he works on the enhancement of the historical and cultural heritage of the High Lands, with particular attention to the memory of places, ancient paths, and the protagonists of the discovery of the Dolomite environment.