Reading with Alice Fumero, readings by Marco Panzanaro.
The first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786 symbolically coincides with the birth of mountaineering. Scientific motivations were soon replaced by the idea that climbing summits was an undertaking forbidden to most people. Only the spectators who watched Albert Smith’s memorable show in London - through the fantastic narratives, dioramas and specially composed music - could have the feeling that they themselves were climbing the summit.
Thanks to the extraordinary ’montblancmania’ aroused by Smith, we will retrace the history of the ascent of the ’King of the Mountains’ from a philosophical, literary and musical point of view.

---