Exhibition: the history of “thirsty” mountain huts

Until 6 January, the Casa della SAT (Tridentine Alpinists Society) in Trento will host the exhibition “Our thirsty mountain huts. SAT refuges in the Dolomites: the past and present of our water supplies.” 12 Panels of photos and information present the history (and current situation) of water supplies to SAT mountain huts in the Dolomites. The exhibition has been organised by the SAT Mountain Library with support from the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation.

Locandina della mostra dedicata all'approvvigionamento idrico dei rifugi alpini

HIGH VISITOR NUMBERS AND CLIMATE CRISIS

As highlighted by curators, Andrea Petizzi and Riccardo Decarli, the exhibition, which begins in 1881, clearly demonstrates how the water-supply situation has radically changed over the last century and a half: “increasing numbers of visitors to Alpine structures has been seen alongside a decrease in the flow of springs that guaranteed their existence for decades, leaving huts now threatened by drastic climate change. Today, the average demand of each structure ranges from 2,000–3,000 to 13,000–15,000 litres of water per day. And this demand is increasingly difficult to provide for.”

A LOOK AT TEN DIFFERENT MOUNTAIN HUTS

Conceived by Riccardo Decarli and Claudio Ambrosi, with support from Livio Noldin, Andrea Petizzi, Alessandro Ceredi and Dario Ribaudo, the exhibition focuses on ten mountain huts in Trentino: Tosa-Pedrotti, Dodici Apostoli, Sella, Tuckett and Graffer al Grostè in the Brenta Dolomites, the Rosetta mountain hut on Pale di San Martino, Boè in the Sella Group, and Ciampedie, Antermóia and Roda di Vaèl on Rosengarten. The historical and documentary perspective of the exhibition presents the evolution of a basic necessity that has always seen technical difficulties and that now, as noted on a day-to-day basis by managers of these mountain huts and almost all those across the Dolomites, must also face the challenges presented by the transformation of these mountain areas.

VISITOR HOURS

The exhibition is open from the 6 January 2025 on the ground floor of Casa della SAT at via Manci 57, in Trento: Monday to Thursday 9.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m./2.30 p.m. – 6.00 p.m., and Friday 9.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m. For more information: SAT – Tridentine Alpinists Society.