Il Ragno di Patagonia
“Il Ragno di Patagonia” by Fulvio Mariani tells the story of Casimiro Ferrari and Matteo Della Bordella
Two generations of mountaineers,
One exploratory spirit
Continually searching for a path yet to be traced.
Majestic peaks on seas of ice covered by stormy skies. Patagonian mountaineering is a challenge that only the international elite can truly take on. Out of all the pioneers, one name stands out. It’s the one of Casimiro Ferrari, who left his mark on the rock, ice and legends of Patagonia with his Ragni di Lecco.
Many years later, someone else has decided to retrace the master’s paths and open a few more. With clean, light, futuristic style, Matteo della Bordella, along with his companions, climbs the Casimir routes. A feat of which we can all be spectators thanks to the camera of Fulvio Mariani, the filmmaker expert on the Patagonian mountains since 1985.
A collection full of period footage, sometimes previously unpublished, comparing two generations of mountaineers. Cerro Torre, Cerro Murallón, Riso Patrón, the east face of Cerro Fitz Roy. Young people are still attracted to the charisma of the mythological “Spider of Patagonia.” Wall after wall, they discover Casimir’s determination and exploratory insight. Because climbing in places like those is a game with extremely strict rules, and the danger threatens to take even the best companions.
Fulvio Mariani: a life between mountaineering and photography
Through it all, Fulvio founded Iceberg-Film, a production company, and successfully shot films on the world’s most important mountains. With a filmography of more than 40 documentaries and as many works, Fulvio and Iceberg-Film win international awards and recognition. For years, Fulvio has been traveling and filming his favorite “hunting” spot: Patagonia.
Fulvio Mariani, born in 1958, was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. From a young age he manifested a deep interest in mountaineering and photography. It was in 1985 that he signed the documentary “Cumbre,” an account of Marco Pedrini’s historic solo ascent of Cerro Torre in a single day. Following in Marco’s footsteps, Fulvio did an outstanding job at directing, but also demonstrated his talent as a mountaineer, becoming one of the few to have reached the summit.
In 1989, Reinhold Messner, the first mountaineer to close all the 14 eight-thousanders, wanted him on the international expedition to the south face of Lhotse. And the same year he was back on the same wall with Poland’s Jerzy Kukuczka, the second to climb all 14 of the eight-thousanders. From the two experiences came the film “The Black Year of the Snake”.
Casimiro Ferrari: stubbornness and intuition
Casimiro Ferrari’s celebrity is mainly due to his climbs on the Andean peaks of Patagonia, which earned him the title of Cavaliere della Repubblica Italiana in 1977. What put him in the Olympus of international mountaineering, however, was one feat in particular: the ascent on the West Face of Cerro Torre in 1974 with companions Mario Conti, Daniele Chiappa and Pino Negri. That was the resolution of one of the world’s greatest mountaineering problems, as well as a demonstration of exceptional team spirit and extraordinary stubbornness.
With Cerro Torre, Casimiro always had a special relationship. For long years he lived right in its vicinity, so much so that he could observe its summit with binoculars right from his living room.
In July 2001, Casimiro was still in Patagonia on what would be his last trip. He had set out during the austral winter to check the condition of his estancia; to reach it, he had had to walk a distance of 15 kilometers through chest-high fresh snow. Once he arrived, he fell ill with pneumonia and it was necessary to call for help. His return to Italy was immediate, but he died soon after, on September 4, 2001.
Matteo della Bordella: simplicity and concreteness
Born and raised in Varese, he took his first vertical steps at age 12. It was his father who inhitiated him to it, on the walls of the house. It was only after many mountain climbs, always roped up with his father Fabio, that the passion exploded.
In 2006 he joined the Ragni di Lecco group and thanks to this he had the opportunity to grow as a mountaineer and as a person. He graduated with a degree in Management Engineering and continued his studies with a PhD, never straying from his true passion: mountaineering.
He has a penchant for remote, high-difficulty rock verticals where the challenge lies in both reaching them and succeeding in climbing them, possibly free climbing and with minimal gear. Perhaps it is this passion that ties him to Patagonia but also to Greenland, Pakistan, India, and Baffin Island. The mountaineering he likes is that which is essential, concrete, light, for a confrontation on equal terms with the mountains.
