Hervé Barmasse. Matterhorn the legendary mountain

Imposing and solitary, with the perfect shape of a pyramid, at 4,478 metres high the Matterhorn towers over the Pennine Alps, at the bottom of Valtournenche. Considered impregnable for a long time, its myth was born with the first ascent in 1865, which quickly spread throughout the world, making it a legendary peak. For 160 years it has attracted climbers and mountaineers from near and far with an undeniable magnetism, arousing a mixture of respect, awe and fascination that make it a unique and coveted destination for tourists and mountaineers. But not only.

Starting with his latest book, Matterhorn. La montagna leggendaria (The Legendary Mountain), the summer 2023 exhibition aims to tell the story of the most iconic mountain in the Alps through the eyes of a mountaineer and retrace the history of its ascents up to the present day using historical material from the Museum's Documentation Centre and other archives or from personal collections. The chronological narrative, starting from the first ascent, with photographs, documents, original materials and videos narrates the exploits of the protagonists, while an immersive projection, curated by auroraMeccanica, makes visitors relive the fascination of the iconography that gave birth to and nurtured the myth of the Matterhorn.

The tour is accompanied by testimonies from journalist and writer Enrico Camanni, who also contributed to the development of the exhibition content; Luciano Bolzoni, architect, architectural historian and director of Alpes; and Michele Freppaz, pedologist and snow scientist from the University of Turin.