Mario Dalmaviva, a tribute by PlanetMountain

It’s difficult to talk about Mario Dalmaviva. And even more difficult to think he’s no longer with us. Mario was exactly as he appeared in person. Just like when you first met him. Mario was larger than life, both in physique and in character. A volcano of ideas who loved life intensely. It’s impossible to forget his smile, his manner - even when dealing with critical situations - that carefully scrutinised and looked well beyond the problems and difficulties. He gave us, from the early outset right to the end, a sense of security. And if we are here, if PlanetMountain began in the first place, then we we owe it above all to him. No one believed in us, encouraged and helped us, as much as he did.

It was back in 1999 when he contacted us. At the time he directed Vivalda Editori, the publisher of the magazine Alp and the books I Licheni, to name just two of thecompany's most important projects. In short, he headed one of the era’s most important specialized publishing houses in Italy and Europe. We were nothing but a group of friends who worked at Mnet-Climb, a web project and website thought up by Francesco Piardi that aimed to use the opportunities offered by the embryonic internet to talk about mountaineering, rock climbing and the mountains in general, in short, our passions. Looking back at this through today’s eyes we were early pioneers. In some respects, we were aware of what we were doing. But at the time, almost nobody seemed to notice. Until Vivalda contacted us. Mario, as usual, had seen far ahead and realised the full potential of the worldwide web. He was always one step ahead. An irrepressible dreamer, yet at the same time someone who always tried to make his dreams take flight.

And so we had that first encounter in Padua, for us an absolutely legendary moment. This was followed by our (for us, equally legendary) first trip to Turin to present the project to the directors and editors of Vivalda. A fair few meetings followed, during which we learned to appreciate Mario, not only as a manager. In 2000 the PlanetMountain project began, formed on equal terms by Vivalda and the "Padua" group (ie us). This lasted until 2004 and those four years were as intense as they were exciting and difficult. We often spoke to Mario, sharing projects, dreams, strategies. And we often shared them around the dinner table, accompanied by a good glass of wine and a great meal, of which he was an absolute master. Talks, thoughts, discussions about everything, even well beyond the mountains. For us this was a truly unforgettable period. Not only because these were our formative years, but also for the freedom and confidence Mario gave us. An unusual liberty. But perhaps even in this respect he was capable of looking beyond, seeing that PlanetMountain is still online today.

Over all these years we always stayed in touch with Mario. We like to think we also became friends Each of us in their own way. He was an extremely cultured person and, coupled with his extraordinary sensitivity, he managed to form a relationship with all of us. And I who knew his life story, the one that began with the inquest on April 7, 1979, had already held him in particular esteem many years earlier. His comic strips drawn in prison, signed Viva and published in Il Manifesto and then Linus, were and remain etched in my memory and in the recollections of those difficult years. This was another reason why it was an honor to get to know the artist. To find out more about his ironic and disarming smile, his innate desire and curiosity for everything new. Mario seemed to need to understand the world, from everything small to everything large. He loved life and nature. He often spoke of his house in Liguria, about his dreams. And we continued to speak of ours, because he was and remains one of us. Ciao Mario!

Vinicio Stefanello

An embrace to Teresa, his beloved wife and life companion, to his adored daughters and grandchildren from the entire Padua planetmountain.com team.