In August 1863, a group entirely composed of Italian mountaineers succeeded in the venture of reaching the summit of Monviso, a mountain located at 3841 m a.s.l. and part of the Cottian Alps chain in Piedmont. It was not the first time that the mountain peak had been reached: two British expeditions in 1861 and 1862 had already been successful, but it was the first time for an Italian expedition. The initiative had been promoted and arranged by the Piedmontese Quintino Sella (Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Italy from March to December 1862 and then from September 1864 to December 1865).2 Given the successful outcome of the expedition and on the wave of the enthusiasm at European level that accompanied mountaineering expeditions of this type at that time, Sella decided to establish the Italian Alpine Club (henceforth abbreviated as CAI). This purpose became concrete on 23 October 1863 in the presence of prospective members at the Valentino Castle in Turin.3 It was the fourth such association to be founded in Europe, after the English Alpine Club (1857), the Austrian club (1862) and the Swiss club (April 1863).