Amedeo di Savoia - Il Ruwenzori - 1908

The volume The Ruwenzori (1908) is regarded as a cornerstone of exploration literature and Italian mountaineering. The scientific-narrative report was written by the physician and scientist Filippo De Filippi, since the expedition commander, Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, did not have the time to prepare the work in full.
The book describes the extraordinary 1906 expedition into the heart of equatorial Africa. The Duke of the Abruzzi managed to map the entire Ruwenzori mountain range and to conquer its main peaks (including Mount Margherita, 5,109 meters), resolving geographical mysteries that had endured since the time of Ptolemy.

The work is not merely a travel diary. It stands out for its extreme scientific precision, the accuracy of the topographical, meteorological, and botanical surveys, which reflect the perfect organizational spirit of the expedition.
Filippo De Filippi's prose is cultivated yet accessible. He manages to balance technical data with the fascination of discovery.
The reader is carried along muddy forest trails and the perennial glaciers of the equator, reliving the physical exertion and the emotion of first ascents.

The volume is famous above all for Vittorio Sella's historic images, one of the greatest mountain photographers of all time. His grand folded panoramas and the photo-engraved illustrations out of the text capture the primordial atmosphere of glaciers now largely vanished.
The large color maps included in the volume represented, for the time, the most precise geographical document ever produced for that specific area.

Some cuts and tears as in the photo