Rethinking Italian polar history: using a historian’s toolbox to combat bias

Despite Italy’s growing role to the Arctic theatre, there remains a general lack of interest in polar history in Italian universities. Occasionally associated with figures such as Giacomo Bove, the Duke of the Abruzzi and Umberto Nobile, Italian polar history is far more complex and richer in episodes often ignored by international historiography. The origins of various bias and gaps can also be found in the lack of knowledge and consequent use of many archival funds. A rethinking of polar history is even more urgent in view of the two centenaries of the polar expeditions of the airships Norge (1926–2026) and Italia (1928–2028), central events (as well as controversial on various aspects) for Italian polar history. Based on research conducted over the last 8 years on polar issues in Italian archives, the paper offers new perspectives to rethink Italian polar history highlighting five main biases and focusing on two case studies.