Vittorio Tedesco Zammarano
Encyclopedia
Vittorio Tedesco Zammarano was an explorer and writer.
He was born in Paris, France on June 8, 1890 to Italian parents Ettore Tedesco and Ida D'Ascanio.
After relocating to Rome following his father's death, his mother married Adolfo Zammarano. Later as a young man Vittorio enrolled in the Accademia Militare di Modena
on November 5, 1908, where he graduated on September 17, 1910 with the rank of 1st lieutenant. From there he went on to the 51st Infantry Regiment. After a three month course for aviator pilots at the Specialist Battalion of the Engineer Corps he was sent to Libya with the 60th Infantry Regiment to fight in the Italo-Turkish War
of 1912.
Upon his return to Italy in 1913 he was promoted to lieutenant. At the end of the year he was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Battalion of Libya where he remained until January 1915, at which time he was repatriated to Italy.
His newfound love for Africa was so strong that he requested to be transferred to the Royal Corps of Colonial Somali Troops and was placed at the orders of the Ministry of Colonies in March of the same year. So begins his adventurous career as explorer and big-game hunter, as well as zoologist, geographer
, cartographer, hydrographer, meteorologist, anthropologist, writer, film-maker, photographer, and impromptu doctor.
During his stay in the Italian colonies in Africa, he held various government posts, such as:
• Commissioned officer of government troops in civil service.
• Appointed envoy for missions on behalf of the Royal Italian Geographic Society.
• Appointed envoy for missions on behalf of the Ministry of the Colonies
.
• Residing Government Officer in Somalia.
• Royal Commercial Agent in Ethiopia.
• Executive Officer for the Italian Political Section of the Italian-English Mission, charged with outlining the borders and defining the treaty for the relinquishment to Italy of what became known as Italian Jubaland
.
His most notable geographic discovery was the identification of the final course of the lower Uebi River as a tributary of the Giuba River in Somalia; and while on an expedition in Ethiopia that follows the course of the Blue Nile River to its source [making him the first European to do so] he identified and mapped all of the tributaries to its upper basin.
At the time he arrived in the region, only 21 species of mammals were considered native to Somalia. Following his explorations, that number grew to 87. He discovered a genus of blind fish (Uegitglanis zammaranoi
), a species of chiropteran (Petalia parisii), a species of murid (Taterillus zammaranoi), a subspecies of viverra (Genetta dongolana tedescoi) and a subspecies of cercopithecus (Cercopithecus albogularis zammaranoi).
In 1917 he was ordered back to Italy due to World War I
, and sent to the battlefront where he fought on the Carso, and in the Battle of the Piave River
. For his acts of heroism, he received two Silver Medals and two Bronze Medals for Military Valor, two Crosses of War for Military Valor, and two Distinguished Crosses of War. After a short respite following the end of the war, he returned to Africa in 1919.
Tedesco Zammarano regularly donated live animals to the Rome Zoo, visiting them often and even surprising the zoo's visitors by joining the lions in their cage. He also donated many of his hunting trophies for research purposes to the Museum of Natural History in Rome and to the Civic Museum of Natural History in Milan, prompting the city of Milan to honor him with the Grand Gold Medal of Merit in April 1924.
He returned permanently to Rome in November 1925 with his first son, Amedeo, born in Garbatula, Kenya, and with two domesticated cheetah cubs, named Sabatino and Pimpinella, who lived the rest of their lives with him as beloved pets and companions.
In 1931 he received a Gold Medal at the International Colonial Exposition
in Paris for his cartography work during his African itineraries.
The rest of his life was dedicated to writing books, treatises for various government organizations, scientific and hunting articles. He also completed his second (Il Rifugio delle Pleiadi) and third (Il Sentiero delle Belve) movies on Africa, his first being Hic Sunt Leones which was released in 1922.
He died in Rome on August 25, 1959.
He was born in Paris, France on June 8, 1890 to Italian parents Ettore Tedesco and Ida D'Ascanio.
After relocating to Rome following his father's death, his mother married Adolfo Zammarano. Later as a young man Vittorio enrolled in the Accademia Militare di Modena
Accademia Militare di Modena
The Accademia Militare is a military university in Modena, in northern Italy, located in the Palazzo Ducale, in the historic centre of the city...
on November 5, 1908, where he graduated on September 17, 1910 with the rank of 1st lieutenant. From there he went on to the 51st Infantry Regiment. After a three month course for aviator pilots at the Specialist Battalion of the Engineer Corps he was sent to Libya with the 60th Infantry Regiment to fight in the Italo-Turkish War
Italo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912.As a result of this conflict, Italy was awarded the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and...
of 1912.
Upon his return to Italy in 1913 he was promoted to lieutenant. At the end of the year he was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Battalion of Libya where he remained until January 1915, at which time he was repatriated to Italy.
His newfound love for Africa was so strong that he requested to be transferred to the Royal Corps of Colonial Somali Troops and was placed at the orders of the Ministry of Colonies in March of the same year. So begins his adventurous career as explorer and big-game hunter, as well as zoologist, geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
, cartographer, hydrographer, meteorologist, anthropologist, writer, film-maker, photographer, and impromptu doctor.
During his stay in the Italian colonies in Africa, he held various government posts, such as:
• Commissioned officer of government troops in civil service.
• Appointed envoy for missions on behalf of the Royal Italian Geographic Society.
• Appointed envoy for missions on behalf of the Ministry of the Colonies
Ministry of the Colonies (Italy)
The Ministry of the Colonies was the ministry of the government of the Kingdom of Italy responsible for the government of the country's colonial possessions and the direction of their economies. It was set up on 20 November 1912 by Royal Decree n. 1205, turning the Central Direction of Colonial...
.
• Residing Government Officer in Somalia.
• Royal Commercial Agent in Ethiopia.
• Executive Officer for the Italian Political Section of the Italian-English Mission, charged with outlining the borders and defining the treaty for the relinquishment to Italy of what became known as Italian Jubaland
Jubaland
Jubaland , also known as Azania or the Juba Valley and formerly as Trans-Juba , is an autonomous region in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies 40–60 km east of the Jubba River, stretching from Gedo to the Indian Ocean, while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in...
.
His most notable geographic discovery was the identification of the final course of the lower Uebi River as a tributary of the Giuba River in Somalia; and while on an expedition in Ethiopia that follows the course of the Blue Nile River to its source [making him the first European to do so] he identified and mapped all of the tributaries to its upper basin.
At the time he arrived in the region, only 21 species of mammals were considered native to Somalia. Following his explorations, that number grew to 87. He discovered a genus of blind fish (Uegitglanis zammaranoi
Uegitglanis zammaranoi
Uegitglanis zammaranoi is the only species of catfish in the genus Uegitglanis of the family Clariidae. It is restricted to caves near the Uegit and the Uebi Scebeli Rivers in Somalia. This species grows to about 10.1 centimetres TL.U. zammaranoi is the sister group to Heteropneustes and the...
), a species of chiropteran (Petalia parisii), a species of murid (Taterillus zammaranoi), a subspecies of viverra (Genetta dongolana tedescoi) and a subspecies of cercopithecus (Cercopithecus albogularis zammaranoi).
In 1917 he was ordered back to Italy due to World War I
Italy in World War I
This article is about Italian military operations in World War I.Italy, though nominally allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary, refused to join them when the war started. Instead Italy entered the war on the Allied side in May 1915....
, and sent to the battlefront where he fought on the Carso, and in the Battle of the Piave River
Battle of the Piave River
The Battle of the Piave River , known in Italy as Battaglia del Solstizio , Battaglia di Mezzo Giugno , or Seconda Battaglia del Piave , was a decisive victory for the Italian Army during World War...
. For his acts of heroism, he received two Silver Medals and two Bronze Medals for Military Valor, two Crosses of War for Military Valor, and two Distinguished Crosses of War. After a short respite following the end of the war, he returned to Africa in 1919.
Tedesco Zammarano regularly donated live animals to the Rome Zoo, visiting them often and even surprising the zoo's visitors by joining the lions in their cage. He also donated many of his hunting trophies for research purposes to the Museum of Natural History in Rome and to the Civic Museum of Natural History in Milan, prompting the city of Milan to honor him with the Grand Gold Medal of Merit in April 1924.
He returned permanently to Rome in November 1925 with his first son, Amedeo, born in Garbatula, Kenya, and with two domesticated cheetah cubs, named Sabatino and Pimpinella, who lived the rest of their lives with him as beloved pets and companions.
In 1931 he received a Gold Medal at the International Colonial Exposition
Paris Colonial Exposition
The Paris Colonial Exhibition was a six-month colonial exhibition held in Paris, France in 1931 that attempted to display the diverse cultures and immense resources of France's colonial possessions.-History :The exposition opened on 6 May 1931 in the Bois de Vincennes on the eastern outskirts of...
in Paris for his cartography work during his African itineraries.
The rest of his life was dedicated to writing books, treatises for various government organizations, scientific and hunting articles. He also completed his second (Il Rifugio delle Pleiadi) and third (Il Sentiero delle Belve) movies on Africa, his first being Hic Sunt Leones which was released in 1922.
He died in Rome on August 25, 1959.
Publications
- Impressioni di Caccia in Somalia (1920)
- Alle Sorgenti del Nilo Azzurro (1922)
- Esplorazione del Basso Uebi (1923)
- Hic Sunt Leones (1923)
- Auhertzee Mio Sogno (1925) – (Novel; re-published as Auher Mio Sogno in 1935)
- Il Sentiero delle Belve (1929)
- Le Colonie Italiane: Fauna e Caccia (1930)
- Azanago’ non Pianse (1934) – (Novel)
- Cuoresaldo a Caccia Grossa (1934) – (For Children)
- Carovane (1955)
- Anche I Giganti S’Inginocchiano (1958)
Movies
- Hic Sunt Leones (1922)
- Il Rifugio delle Pleiadi (1926)
- Il Sentiero delle Belve (1932)
External links
- A Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures Commentary on African exploration by Prem Poddar, Rajeev S. Lars Jensn
- http://books.google.com/books?id=Ghah5S3usnsC&pg=PA282&lpg=PA282&dq=vittorio+tedesco+zammarano&source=bl&ots=hwijss62eE&sig=Iv6zs9ePQM-fxqwPLFApc-RbSSs&hl=en&ei=KSC_SvjIJovOsQPSrJU3&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=vittorio%20tedesco%20zammarano&f=false