author
Jules Brocherel
1871–1954
A passionate observer of the Alps, this Italian ethnologist and photographer helped preserve the stories, landscapes, and traditions of the Aosta Valley. His work joined mountain life, local culture, and early tourism in a way that still feels vivid today.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Courmayeur in 1871, Jules Brocherel grew up in a family with strong ties to mountaineering and later trained as a primary-school teacher in Aosta. He became known as an ethnologist, photographer, writer, and alpine guide whose interests ranged from climbing and glaciology to botany, hydrography, and local history.
Brocherel played an important role in documenting and promoting the culture of the Aosta Valley. He published early guidebooks on Courmayeur and alpinism, worked as a journalist, and produced photographs and postcards that helped shape the region’s modern public image. In 1919 he founded Augusta Prætoria, an influential cultural review devoted to local traditions and language, and his photographs later appeared in many books, including work connected with the Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani.
He also helped support cultural life in Aosta in practical ways. Sources describe him as an advocate for the Regional Library of Aosta, which was founded in 1950, and as its first director. He died in Aosta on January 1, 1954, leaving behind a body of work closely tied to Alpine culture and the history of his region.