Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Born in Courmayeur in 1870, Joseph-Marie Henry, better known as l'abbé Henry, was the last representative of that typical 19th century Valdostan clergy, passionate about mountains, science and attentive to the evolution of society.
His field of action ranged from real mountaineering (he has in his palmarès all the classic ascents and many first ascents), to botany (he was president of the Société de la Flore Valdôtaine for forty-six years), to history (he wrote numerous works including a real best seller of the time: L'Histoire populaire religieuse et civile de la Vallée d'Aoste, 1929), to glaciological science, to economics (he was a propagandist of the 'novelty' of the time constituted by cooperatives), to agriculture (he was a supporter of the Solari method, which envisaged crop rotation to increase production), to politics and journalism (he was a fierce opponent of liberalism and socialism, which he fought in the columns of the Duché d'Aoste); finally, he also devoted himself to philology applied to toponymy and to writing short stories and plays in patois.
It is therefore extremely difficult to summarise in a few lines such a multifaceted personality: we limit ourselves here to recalling his mountaineering exploits and his work as a distinguished naturalist.
Son of one of Courmayeur's most famous guides, Abbé Henry contracted what he called "le microbe de l'alpinisme" from an early age.
He rose to prominence on 5 August 1893, when he celebrated mass for the first time on the summit of Mont Blanc. He was later transferred as assistant parish priest to Cogne, he had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with Abbé Chanoux in the realisation of the famous Chanousia botanical garden. He even created his own garden in Courmayeur, which he had to abandon in 1903, however, when he was appointed parish priest of Valpelline. There he began an all-round study: topography, customs, flora and climatology. The result was the first guidebook of the area, which contributed greatly to bringing Valpelline out of anonymity. He climbed practically all the mountains in the area, most of them first ascents, and gave the various peaks the names of his priest friends.
Of a gruff character, but a good and sincere soul, he was held in high esteem in both mountaineering and botanical circles. He was in fact called upon several times to give lectures in Turin, Milan and Genoa; reports of his ascents exist in the bulletins of the Italian, French and Swiss Alpine Clubs. In the naturalistic field, he was considered an authority, so much so that numerous academics willingly collaborated with the Bulletin de la Flore Valdôtaine of which he was the animator. His notoriety did not wane in old age, so much so that at the end of World War II, he was arrested during a round-up and taken to Aosta, it was enough for him to decline his generalities for the German officer to have him released with many apologies.
He was always an advocate of a somewhat mystical relationship with the mountains and nature: he loved solitary mountaineering. He said that a mountaineer's best company is to have no company, because that is the only way to enjoy the company of the mountain, also because the mountain speaks in a low voice and you need silence and solitude to hear its voice.
He died suddenly at the age of 77, while tending his garden in the company of his bees.
Born in Courmayeur in 1870, Joseph-Marie Henry, better known as l'abbé Henry, was the last representative of that typical 19th-century Aosta Valley clergyman, passionate about mountains, science and the evolution of society.His field of action ranged from real mountaineering (he has in his palmarès all the classic ascents and many absolute firsts), to botany (he was president of the Société de la Flore Valdôtaine for forty-six years), to history (he wrote numerous works including a real best seller of the time: L'Histoire populaire religieuse et civile de la Vallée d'Aoste, 1929), to glaciological science, to economics (he was a propagandist of the 'novelty' of the time constituted by cooperatives), to agriculture (he was a supporter of the Solari method, which envisaged crop rotation to increase production), to politics and journalism (he was a fierce opponent of liberalism and socialism, which he fought in the columns of the Duché d'Aoste); finally, he also devoted himself to philology applied to toponymy and to writing short stories and plays in patois.
It is therefore extremely difficult to summarise in a few lines such a multifaceted personality: we will limit ourselves here to recalling his mountaineering exploits and his work as a distinguished naturalist.
The son of one of Courmayeur's most famous guides, Abbé Henry contracted what he called 'le microbe de l'alpinisme' from an early age.
He rose to prominence on 5 August 1893, when he celebrated mass for the first time on the summit of Mont Blanc. Later, when he was transferred as deputy parish priest in Cogne, he had the opportunity to get to know and collaborate with Abbé Chanoux on the creation of the famous Chanousia botanical garden. He even created his own garden in Courmayeur, which he had to abandon in 1903, however, when he was appointed parish priest of Valpelline. There he began an all-round study: topography, customs, flora and climatology. The result was the first guidebook of the area, which contributed greatly to bringing Valpelline out of anonymity. He climbed practically all the mountains in the area, most of them first ascents, and gave the various peaks the names of his priest friends.
Of a gruff character, but with a good and sincere soul, he was held in high regard in both mountaineering and botanical circles. He was in fact called upon several times to give lectures in Turin, Milan and Genoa; reports of his ascents exist in the bulletins of the Italian, French and Swiss Alpine Clubs. In the naturalistic field, he was considered an authority, so much so that numerous academics willingly collaborated with the Bulletin de la Flore Valdôtaine of which he was the animator. His notoriety did not wane in old age, so much so that at the end of the Second World War, when he was arrested during a round-up and taken to Aosta, it was enough for him to give his personal details for the German officer to have him released with many apologies.
He was always an advocate of a somewhat mystical relationship with the mountains and nature: he loved solitary mountaineering. He said that a mountaineer's best company is to have no company, because that is the only way to enjoy the company of the mountain, also because the mountain speaks softly and you need silence and solitude to hear its voice.
He died suddenly at the age of 77, while tending to his garden in the company of his bees.