Pellegrino Matteucci

Doctor Pellegrino Matteucci (12 October 1850 – 8 August 1881) was an Italian explorer known for his expeditions to Africa.

Early life Matteucci was born in Ravenna, Italy. His parents moved to Bologna when he was two years old. He studied medicine and Arabic at the University of Rome, intending to be a Roman Catholic missionary to Africa. His education was interrupted when the Italian army occupied Rome in 1870, but he continued it in Ravenna.

Exploration Together with Romolo Gessi, Matteucci travelled up the Blue Nile on an unsuccessful expedition to the Kingdom of Kaffa. Matteucci wrote of the trip "You can imagine the state of mind of Gessi, who has never known fear, and always conquered with few and brave soldiers; here, near to the goal, and imprisoned by a swollen river, and with few fighting-men, he is like a wounded lion." Matteucci published a history of the journey, Soudan and Galla, on his return. They travelled through Africa, heading to the northern border of Shewa. By the end of this expedition, Matteucci had succumbed to fever attributed to malaria four times. The journey was chronicled in Matteucci's book In Abyssinia. Prince Giovanni Borghese, the youngest member of that family, accompanied the expedition as far as Wadai. On the Gulf of Guinea, Matteucci's expedition found passage on a ship to England. Matteucci left few notes and letters from this trip, because of his fevers, inflammation of the eyes, and periods of imprisonment along the way.

Death Following the final expedition, Matteucci arrived in Liverpool and took the train to London, where he suffered a severe fever. Despite the aid of doctors, he died the following day, 8 August 1881, in a London hotel. His body was taken to Bologna by Massari.

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