Pellegrino Matteucci

Pellegrino Matteucci

Pellegrino Matteucci (born October 12, 1850 in Ravenna , † August 8, 1881 in London ) was an Italian traveler to Africa.

In December 1878, Matteucci went from Italy to Abyssinia on behalf of the Geographical Trade Society and traveled through the country to the northern border of the Shoah . When he returned to Italy, in the spring of 1880 he made a new journey with a young Prince Borghese via Egypt and Darfur to Wadai .

This, Matteucci's third trip, led from Sawakin on the Red Sea via Khartoum through Darfur , south along Lake Chad , through Kanem-Bornu , via Kano and Bida to the Niger Delta . In the Gulf of Guinea , Matteucci and his companion found a ship passage to England. Arrived in Liverpool and already on the train to London , Matteucci suffered a severe attack of fever. Despite medical help, he died the following day, August 8, 1881, in a London hotel. His body was transferred to Bologna . There, in the Carthusian monastery church, friends and traveling companions had a tomb erected for him. At first there was no scientific evaluation of his crossing of Africa.

Works

• La spedizione italiana all 'Africa equatorlale (Bologna 1875)
• La cremazione del cadaveri (Bologna 1875)
• In Abissinia (Milan 1880).

literature

• Viaggi Africani di Pellegrino Matteucci. Viaggi e Scoperte di Navigatori ed Esploratori Italiani 18, Milano 1932