Walking in the footsteps of the pioneers and their stories. A journey through the first 50 years of the CAI in Lecco, through images and documents

An exhibition organised by the Lecco branch of the CAI and the Riccardo Cassin Foundation, in collaboration with the SIMUL of the Municipality of Lecco.

The exhibition, part of the ‘Monti Sorgenti’ programme and curated by Alberto Benini, Pietro Corti, Sergio Poli and Adriana Baruffini, ties in with the book published by the Lecco CAI in 2024 to mark its 150th anniversary and offers a journey through the history and origins of the association, drawing on the section’s archives and library, which have been organised and made available for consultation over time. This effort has made it possible to rediscover old, almost forgotten publications, further enhancing the value of certain artefacts already on permanent display in the museum space at Palazzo delle Paure dedicated to mountaineering in Lecco.

The exhibition panels faithfully reproduce, through old photographs, maps, prints and drawings, some of the most significant pages of the book, beginning with the memory of the noble forefathers of the Lecco CAI: Antonio Stoppani, Mario Cermenati, Giovanni Pozzi, Giuseppe Ongania and many other lesser-known figures, who were nonetheless part of the great mountaineering movement that swept across Europe in the second half of the 19th century, leading to the establishment of mountaineering clubs in various countries. These are the men mentioned in the title as pioneers, capable of looking ahead and keen to find a way to climb the mountains, share their passion with others, promote the cause, build huts and mark out trails.

The exhibition also features various accounts of mountain excursions that capture the alpine spirit of the era, including reports on the founding of the Capanna Stoppani and the Lecco huts, as well as recollections of events such as the 30th National Geology Congress, which took place in Lecco in 1911.