Luigi Amedeo di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi 

Title: Duca degli Abruzzi

Date of birth: 29-01-1873

Died: 17-03-1933

Place of birth: Madrid

Died: Giohàr (Somalia)

Third born of Amedeo d’Aosta and nephew of Vittorio Emanuele II, Luigi Amedeo di Savoia was known internationally for his fame as an explorer. His sense of adventure drove him to tackle major ascents on the principal mountain ranges in the world and sent him across the seas of the entire globe. He is one of the protagonists of European mountaineering and among the pioneers who faced the extreme challenges of summits outside Europe. After having ticked off some important ascents in the Alps, he was the first to climb Saint Elia in Alaska in 1897.  He conquered the summit of Ruwenzori in Africa in 1906 and led an expedition in 1909 to Karakorum with the aim of conquering K2, a mission which failed partly on account of the technical limitations of the equipment of the time. On all these expeditions he was accompanied by Vittorio Sella as official photographer, except for a historic exploration of the North Pole, 1899-1900, when he reached the maximum arctic latitude, two circumnavigations of the globe and the ascent of the Uebi Scebeli in Ethiopia. This last challenge took place at a time when the duke had founded a farm in Giohàr, Somalia, named in 1920 SAIS (Società agricola italo-somala). It was here that the duke died of a tumour in 1933.