History of the Alps

The 18th century saw a real craze for the Alps, with a huge influx of travelers. There were a number of reasons for this, which we'll develop below, but it was the result of a slow evolution. Dragons in the Alps The early 18th century was still marked by popular beliefs, which were also reflected in scientific research: many people spoke of monsters and dragons in the mountains. Scheuchzer devotes an entire chapter to his Ouresiphoites Helveticus, sive itinera per Helvetiae alpinas regiones (published in 1723), one of the most important works ...

The 17th century had a more mixed relationship with the mountains than the 16th century, and sometimes a more negative one. This was partly due to the slight cooling of the climate at the time. Glaciers were growing and sometimes sweeping away churches and fields in their path, causing great damage, but also making it more difficult to enjoy the mountains. The mountains were sometimes perceived as divine punishment, as Horace-Bénédict de Saussure testifies: "The little people of our town [Chamonix] and the surrounding area give Mont Blanc and the snow-covered mountains that surround it the name of ...

Although mountains occupy a central place in many civilizations and mythologies - being the refuge of the gods, for example - it's only in recent times that man has taken an interest in them. Petrarch's ascent of Mont Ventoux on April 26, 1335 was one of the very first of its kind. It is often regarded as the first awareness of landscape and mountain perception, even if the claim is somewhat exaggerated. A few months before Columbus discovered America, on June 26, 1492, Antoine de Ville climbed Mount ... on the orders of King Charles VIII of France.

The life of John Ruskin (1819-1900), British writer, poet, art critic and painter, is closely linked to the Alps. A great traveller who visited the continent on numerous occasions, particularly Switzerland and Italy, he first saw the Alps from Schaffhausen, on his first trip to Switzerland in 1833, when he was 14. It was an instant revelation. His love of the mountains would never leave him, and more than anywhere else, it was in the mountains that Ruskin felt truly at home, as he wrote on July 24, 1845...