![Sample our Area Studies journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5922/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Area-Studies.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
In 1928, the airship Italia, commanded by Umberto Nobile, crashed on the way back from the North Pole. The tragic outcome of his expedition interrupted the organization of significant Arctic explorations and generated a fracture between Mussolini’s regime and polar studies. The Fascist regime implicitly expressed its shame for its role in the whole unfortunate expedition and the subject became taboo in the entire country. Almost ten years later, in 1937, Norway invited all countries that had previously undertaken polar expeditions to participate in the first International Polar Exhibition (Internasjonal utstilling for polarforskning), planned to be held from May 1940. Considering the polemics after the 1928 Arctic expedition, the Norwegians’ eager efforts to solicit Italy’s participation in the exhibition may appear surprizing. Therefore, this work aims to better understand these dynamics, seeing the uncertainties surrounding Italy’s participation in the polar exhibition in light of Nobile’s pivotal role in the organization of Fascist Italy’s polar explorations.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 “Sin da ora possiamo con legittimo orgoglio constatare che in una impresa così ardita la vittoria è in massima parte italiana”. For further details see Il Tevere, Anno III, n. 118 – Mercoledì 19-Giovedì 20 maggio 1926, p. 1.
2 “Sul dirigibile di tipo italiano, pensato e, sarà bene ripeterlo, disegnato e costruito in Italia, si imponeva perciò l’equipaggio di manovra italiano […]. Una impresa […] frutto della accuratissima preparazione morale professionale e tecnica; della fredda e meditata audacia; della grande energia e tenacia dell’impavido comandante dell’aeronave […]. For further details see Il Tevere, Anno III, n. 118 – Mercoledì 19-Giovedì 20 maggio 1926, p. 1.
3 See Craciun (Citation2009); McCannon (Citation2012); Elenius (Citation2015); Schimanski and Spring (Citation2015); Dodds and Nuttall (Citation2016).
4 See Reinke-Kunze (Citation1992); McCannon (Citation1998); Murphy (Citation2002); Robinson (Citation2006); McCannon (Citation2007); Craciun (Citation2009); Depledge (Citation2013); Walsh (Citation2016); Depledge (Citation2018).
5 See Schimanski and Spring (Citation2015).
6 See Mazzoli (Citation2003).
7 See Conti (Citation2019).
8 See d’Ayala Valva (Citation2008).
9 See Drivenes and Jølle (Citation2007).
10 See Amundsen (Citation1927).
11 In 2016, however, some scholars stated that the crash might have been related to the fatigue of the driver. See Bendrick, Beckett, and Klerman (Citation2016).
12 See Aas (Citation2002, Citation2005).
13 See Berg (Citation2013, Citation2017)and Ferrarini (Citation2020b, Citation2021)
14 Christen Gran Bøgh (1876-1955) was a Norwegian jurist, tourism promoter and theatre critic. He was born in Bergen, where he organized a successful National exhibition in 1928 (Landsutstillingen Bergen 1928). Many years later, in 1953, Bøgh organized the first Bergen International Festival (Festspillene i Bergen). See Gjerstad (Citation2009); Christen Gran Bøgh in the Norsk biografisk leksikon.
Link: nbl.snl.no/Christen_Gran_B%C3%B8gh (last visit 01.09.2022).
15 Adolf Hoel (1879-1964) was a Norwegian geologist and explorer. He led several polar expeditions to Svalbard and Greenland and he was among the founders of the Norway’s Svalbard and Arctic Ocean Research Survey (1928). In 1933 Quisling asked Hoel to put himself at the disposal of the Nasjonal Samling in order to work for Norwegian polar interests. Hoel participated in the election campaign and ran as the party’s number two candidate from Oslo. His name appeared on the list of candidates right after that of Quisling himself (Drivenes and Jølle Citation2007). During the German occupation of Norway he was rector of the University of Oslo. In 1948 the Norway’s Svalbard and Arctic Ocean Research Survey became the Norwegian Polar Institute.
16 The International Exhibition of Polar Exploration Bergen 1940 – Programme, general regulations, organization. In particular, the Exhibition embraced: The Arctic Ocean, Greenland, Jan Mayen, Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, the Arctic archipelagos of Asia and America, the Asiatic and American mainlands bordering on the Arctic Ocean, the Antarctic Continent with surrounding islands and seas.
17 For further details on the development of polar tourism see Roura (Citation2009).
18 The International Exhibition of Polar Exploration Bergen 1940 – Programme, general regulations, organization.
19 Bergen Byarkiv, A-1170, Landsutstillingen i Bergen (Bb-Landsutstillingen), Serie D – Saksarkiv, Saker R-S, 1937-1940, preliminary contract between the organizers and the restaurant company (kontrakt mellom Utstillingen i Bergen 1940 A/S og Utstillingsrestaurantene A/E).
20 The building was designed after the Bergen fire in 1916 by Finn Berner and Anton Kielland, and was completed in 1927. The building originally contained the National Telegraph and Telephone. Today, the ground floor has been rebuilt to the Telegraph shopping centre, while the top three floors contain offices.
21 Ove Vangensten (1880-1946) was a Norwegian philologist and diplomat. In 1917 he was assigned (attaché) to the Norwegian Embassy in Rome, where he was nominated legation secretary two years later. Vangensten also was an internationally recognized expert on Leonardo da Vinci’s works.
22 Harald Sverdrup (1888-1957) was a Norwegian oceanographer and meteorologist. He was director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (San Diego, California) from 1936 to 1948. In 1948 Sverdrup came back from the United States and became the new head of the Norwegian Polar Institute. See Vollset, Hornnes, and Ellingsen (Citation2018).
23 The International Exhibition of Polar Exploration Bergen 1940 – Programme, general regulations, organization.
24 See Albertini (Citation1929).
25 See Bonzi (Citation1936).
26 Silvio Zavatti (1917-1985) was an Italian explorer, anthropologist and politician. In 1944, he founded the geographic polar institute in Forlì (Istituto Geografico Polare). The development of the project led to the creation of the first (and unique) Italian polar museum that was initially located in Civitanova Marche and, a few years later, moved to the city of Fermo. The Italian Museum, equipped with a rich polar library, was inaugurated in 1969 and gathered a wide range of materials that Zavatti collected during his expeditions in Greenland, Canada, Lapland, and Antarctica. Another important contributor was Sigisfredo Bertoni, who supported two Arctic expeditions organized by the Italian Geographic Polar Institute, and donated some relics of the tragic Italia expedition, such as Nobile’s sleeping bag, Cesco Tomaselli’s shoes and Felice Trojani’s cutlery. Moreover, the library had already around 8,000 publications. In the 1980s, the city of Fermo bought the museum, which has been open since 1969. See Zavatti (Citation1969, Citation1972); Museo Polare “Silvio Zavatti” www.museopolarefermo.it
27 The institute is a centre of excellence in the study of the Arctic and Antarctic. It is an interdisciplinary centre and houses the World’s premier Polar Library, archive, photographic collection and a Polar Museum.
For further details see https://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/about/ (last visit 09.01.2022).
28 Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero della Cultura Popolare 1926-1945, Direzione generale servizi della propaganda, poi per gli scambi culturali 1930-1944, Propaganda presso gli Stati esteri 1930–1943 (Acs-Minculpop), busta 163, Telespresso n. 203562 from the Italian foreign office to the Minculpop dated 04.07.1939.
29 Acs-Minculpop, busta 163. Telespresso n. 239910 dated 11.18.1937 from the Italian foreign office to the Minculpop.
30 See Le Vie del Mondo, “Una esposizione Polare Internazionale a Bergen nel 1940”, Nr. VIII, 1938, p. XII.
31 Bb-Landsutstillingen, A-1170, Serie D – Saksarkiv, Saker I-J-K, 1937-1940, Letter from Zoli to the NSIU dated 04.07.1938.
32 See Bollettino della R. Società Geografica Italiana, Serie VII, Vol. III, Nr. 5-6, May-June 1938, p. 469.
33 Giorgio Vaccaro (1892-1983) was a prominent sport manager, officer and member of the Fascist Party. At the time of the organization of the polar exhibition, he was the general secretary of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano).
34 Bb-Landsutstillingen, A-1170, Serie D – Saksarkiv, Saker I-J-K, 1937-1940, Letter from Albertini to Vaccaro dated 04.12.1938.
35 Ivi, A-1170, Serie D – Saksarkiv, Saker I-J-K, 1937-1940, Letter from Bøgh to Vangensten, dated 10.03.1938.
36 Ivi, A-1170, Serie D – Saksarkiv, Saker I-J-K, 1937-1940, Letter from Ole Tschudi Irgens to Vangensten dated 09.23.1938.
37 Bb-Landsutstillingen, A-1170, Serie D – Saksarkiv, Saker P, 1935-1942, Letter from Giordano to Bøgh dated 09.22.1938.
38 Ivi, Letter from Bøgh to Giordano dated 09.19.1938.
39 Ivi, Letter from Giordano to Bøgh dated 09.22.1938.
40 Ibidem.
41 In 1929 Albertini had organized a new polar expedition in the hope of finding some more survivors of the disaster of the airship Italia. Although his efforts to find someone proved unsuccessful, the expedition revealed valuable scientific information. For further details see Albertini (Citation1929).
42 Bb-Landsutstillingen, A-1170, Serie D – Saksarkiv, Saker I-J-K, 1937-1940, Letter from Albertini to Hoel dated 12.28.1938.
43 Archivio della Società Geografica Italiana (Asgi), XIB – Esposizione Polare Internazionale a Bergen (1952), Fondo amministrativo, Subfondo: 16, Presidenza Orazio Toraldo di Francia, Serie: 1949, Fascicolo: 107, 10/1938-05/1949, Unità di conservazione b. 134, fasc. 12, Letter from Albertini to the Società Geografica Italiana dated 12.28.1938
44 Bb-Landsutstillingen, A-1170, Serie D – Saksarkiv, Saker I-J-K, Letter from Tschudi Irgens to La Rocca dated 02.01.1939.
45 Ivi, Letter from Tschudi Irgens to La Rocca dated 02.01.1939. Tschudi Irgens, in French, wrote: “[…] il m’a conseillé [Lorenzo] de vous écrire pour vous prier d’user de votre influence pour obtenir la participation d’Italie à l’Exposition Polaire Internationale qui se tiendra à Bergen en 1940 […]. Je me rappelle souvent le bon voyage que nous avons faits ensemble avec “Vega”, et qui ètait une si bonne occasion pour nouer des chaudes liens d’amitié et d’intelligence entre nos deux nations […]”.
46 Ibid.
47 Ivi, Letter from La Rocca to Tschudi Irgens dated 02.18.1939.
48 Ivi, Letter from Tschudi Irgens to La Rocca dated 02.22.1939; letter from La Rocca to Tschudi Irgens, dated 02.18.1939.
49 Ivi, Letter from Bøgh to the consul Halvorsen dated 07.17.1939.
50 Acs-Minculpop, busta 163, Telespresso n. 203562 from the Italian foreign office to the Minculpop dated 04.07.1939.
51 Asgi, XIB – Esposizione Polare Internazionale a Bergen (1952), Letter from the Italian Academy to the National Research Council (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), dated 08.02.1939.
52 Asgi, XIB – Esposizione Polare Internazionale a Bergen (1952), Report of the meeting at the Società Geografica Italiana, “Riunione tenuta presso la Società Geografica Italiana”, dated 05.13.1939, p. 4.
53 Ivi, Letter from de Agostini to the Hydrographic Institute of the Navy (Istituto Idrografico della Marina), dated 11.14.1938. The work in progress was the following: Il Passaggio del Nord-Est. Spedizione Artica Svedese della “Vega” (1878-79). Diario di Giacomo Bove. A cura di A. Fresa, Roma, Reale Società Geografica Italiana, 1940.
54 Asgi, XIB – Esposizione Polare Internazionale a Bergen (1952), Report of the meeting at the Società Geografica Italiana, “Riunione tenuta presso la Società Geografica Italiana”, dated 05.13.1939, p. 2: “[…] altro punto da chiarire è l’opportunità di invitare il Generale Umberto Nobile (attualmente professore di costruzioni aeronautiche all’Università di Napoli) a fornire dati e materiali in possesso. Il Prof. Toniolo rileva come questa sia una questione importantissima, che ha evidentemente influito sull’atteggiamento negativo del Ministero della Marina, per note ragioni riferentisi alle polemiche del tempo della spedizione Nobile. Crede indispensabile che la cosa venga stabilita in modo non equivoco mediante intervento di S.E. il Presidente della Società Geografica Italiana presso il Capo del Governo. Se la questione dovesse dar luogo a difficoltà o dissensi, sarebbe pregiudicata anche l’opportunità di un intervento ufficiale all’Esposizione e consigliabile alla Società Geografica di declinare l’incarico […].”
55 Asgi, XIB – Esposizione Polare Internazionale a Bergen (1952), Letter from the Italian Academy to the National Research Council (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), dated 08.02.1939.
56 Bb-Landsutstillingen, A-1170 (on line), Letter from Bøgh to the participants dated 09.19.1939, https://www.bergenbyarkiv.no/oppslagsverket/2017/06/27/landsutstillingen-i-bergen-1940/A (last visit 09.01.2022).
57 International Polar Conference and Polar Exhibition, 1940, in the Polar Record 3 (19): 286 (1940).
58 Asgi, XIB – Esposizione Polare Internazionale a Bergen (1952), Letter from Orazio Toraldo di Francia to Carlo Conti Rossini dated 05.31.1948.
59 Asgi, XIB – Esposizione Polare Internazionale a Bergen (1952), Letter from the Foreign office to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, dated 05.12.1949, Telespresso n. 32/8337.
60 See also Miscali (Citation2021b).
61 Bergen Byarkiv, A-1170, Landsutstillingen i Bergen (Bb-Landsutstillingen), Serie D – Saksarkiv, Saker I-J-K, Letter from Tschudi Irgens to La Rocca dated 02.01.1939.