Vittorino Cazzetta (1947-1997)
Vittorino Cazzetta was born in 1947 in Pescul, Selva di Cadore, in the heart of the Dolomites. A shy and reserved man, of few words but of keen observation, he has dedicated his life to exploring the mountains of his homeland, from which he never strays.
“A vintage military backpack, a camera, lenses, a hammer, and an all-consuming love for the mountains of his homeland from which he never strays. And, inside, the fire of passion”.
He is self-taught: a pastry chef by trade, like his father who worked seasonally on ships and in hotels, he completed his military service in the Navy in Venice. During the two years of conscription he earned his middle school diploma, but Venice was not for him: he preferred to return in Pescul to work on the winter lifts and for the Forest Service, carving out time for his long and solitary wanderings in search of traces of the past.
“He rarely allowed anyone to accompany him on his explorations, which often lasted a couple of days”
The founding of the museum and the “Amici del Museo” Association
The idea of creating a museum originated in 1980 when Vitorino, having collected a huge number of fossils, suggested to Mayor Giuseppe Romanelli to set up “a display case to be placed in schools with these objects, so that children could learn something about the area where they live”. From the simple display case project, a more ambitious idea took shape: on March 13th 1982 the Val Fiorentina Civic Museum was set up.
A group spontaneusly formed around this project, “Amici del Museo” (Friends of the museum) that officially became the Cultural Association “Amici del Museo of Selva di Cadore” in 1989. This association would play a fundamental role not only in managing the museum, but above all, in providing scientific and logistic support for the discoveries in this area.
The discoveries which change science
As early as the 1970s, Vittorino had noticed dinosaur footprints imprinted on a boulder broken away from Pelemetto, but it tooked a long time before he decided to speak about it. When finally the new reached the scientific communities, Professor Paolo Mietto of the University of Padua, completed the study of this extraordinary discovery: these are the first dinosaur trackways discovered in Italy.
“Chance? Maybe chance, too. But first curiosity, do-it-yourself culture, weekends sacrificed, vacations set aside, patience and discussion.”
The archeological turning point came in 1985. While studying a brochure of the exhibition “Mesolithic Hunters in the Dolomites” held in Udine, Vittorino recognized in the artifacts described, materials similar to those he had noticed as a child, when he used to go out to pasture with his mother in Mondeval. “Among the ground disturbed by a marmot” he found the first flint tools in Mondeval de Sora.
This is where the “Amici del Museo” Association demonstrates its strategic importance: through the Association, Professor Antonio Guerreschi of the University of Ferrara is brought in to assess the site and he considered it worthy of an excavation campaign. The Association coordinated the necessary founding, working with the Municipality of Selva di Cadore, private individuals and volounteers to support the costly excavation work at an altitude of 2,150 meters.
The Mondeval Man discovery
In 1987, toward the end of a two-week excavation, the archeologists noticed “a clear line separating the barren soil from an area of soil that had still benn disturbed by human activity”. The study sheds light on the burial of a Mesolithic hunter, a discovery of international significance due to the exceptional state of conservation and the richness of the funerary goods.
Always tireless in his research, Vittorino discovered the Neolithic site of Mandriz along the Loschiesuoi Valley, unearthing pots, shard, flint arrowheads and lots of food remains from the Neolithic and Eneolithic period. This site as well was the focus of four educational-excavation campaigns (1999-2002) supported by the “Amici del Museo” Association.
His other discoveries include a quartz fragment – which some believe to be the legendary “Rajetta” of Dolomite legends-, rock carvings and possible traces of the ancient Veneti.
The tragic death
On the 10th of August 1996, Vittorino left for one of his usual solo expeditions and never returned. After a year of searching, on August 19, 1997, his body was found by speologist Gianni Lovato in a makeshift shelter inside a crevice on Piz del Corvo. In the backpack next to the body there is a small bronze statue of the Virgin Mary that he had specially commissioned, likely as a votive offering to commemorate a previous accident in 1985 from which he had miracolously survived.
He was 49 years old.
Further exploration at the bottom of the crevice led to the discovery of the remains of the backpack containing the camera that Vittorino had lost in the accident twelve years earlier, confirming that this was the site of the accident he had never wanted to reveal.
The Association’s scientific legacy and role
In 1997, the museum was named after Vittorino Cazzetta in recognition of his fundamental contribution to our understanding of the archeological and paleontological heritage of the Dolomites. The “Amici del Museo” Association continues its work maintaining close ties with the University of Ferrara for the study of excavated materials, supporting new archaeological reserach and promoting scientific outreach.
Vittorino’s discoveries revolutionized our knowledge of prehistoric human presence at high altitudes and of paleontology in the Dolomites, opening up new avenues of research that continue to this day. The “Amici del Museo” Association dedicated 35 years of activity (1989-2024) to the preservation and promotion of this scientific heritage, before disbanding in 2024 after having fully achieved its objectives.
“As noticed by many, the breakthrough in Mesolithic research, especially in the Belluno area, can be attributed more to ‘unqualified’ observers than to established scholars.”
Vittorino Cazzetta remains a prime example of how passion, curiosity and love for homeland, can lead to scientific discoveries of global significance, demonstrating that often “untrained observers” enable major breakthroughs in research. His legacy lives not only on his discoveries, but also in the example of how the community of Selva di Cadore, through the “Amici del Museo” Association, local governments and residents, has managed to support end promote scientific research with dedication and competence for over three decades.
