Ambrogio Fogar (; 13 August 1941 – 24 August 2005) was an Italian sailor, writer, rally driver, adventurer, and television presenter. He was a Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

, gold medal for athletic value, gold medal for marine value, gold medal to memory and other.

Biography

His exploits included a number of successful long-distance sailing feats, such as becoming the first Italian to sail single-handedly from east to west around the world, starting and ending his journey in

Castiglione della Pescaia Castiglione della Pescaia (; abbreviated by locals as Castiglione or Castiglioni), is an ancient seaside town in the province of Grosseto, in Tuscany, central Italy. The modern town grew around a medieval 12th century fortress () and a large fishe ...

, Tuscany. In 1978, after being capsized by

orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

s, he survived more than ten weeks in a life raft in the South Atlantic along with a friend, journalist Mauro Mancini, who died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

two days after the two were rescued. Another venture was Fogar's solo sled expedition to the North Pole. He competed several times in the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

and in the Rallye des Pharaons. Ambrogio Fogar grave Milan 2015

In 1992, Fogar was paralyzed from the neck down following a jeep accident while rallying in

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. This did not end his adventurous spirit, and in 1997, in a wheelchair, he competed in a round-Italy yacht race. He died in 2005 of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and is buried at the

Monumental Cemetery of Milan Monumental may refer to: * In the manner of a monument Places * Monumental Island, Nunavut, Canada * Monumental Island, New Zealand * Monumental (Barcelona Metro), a station in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain * La Monumental, the Plaza Monumental ...

, Italy.

Personal life

Fogar was the father of Rachele and Francesca Fogar. Rachele Fogar was born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

on 31 July 1991 and Francesca Fogar was born in

Tradate Tradate is a city and ''comune'' located in the province of Varese, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. It is located from the city of Varese (the province's capital), and according to the 2018 census Tradate's population was 18,983. It rec ...

on 17 November 1975.

Television

* ''Jonathan - Dimensione avventura'' (

Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a ...

, 1984–1986;

Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is aimed at both a young adult and adult audience. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, was or ...

, 1986–1991) * ''Antologia di Jonathan'' (

, 1984–1986;

, 1986–1991) * ''Parliamone'' - talk of ''

Buongiorno Italia ''Buongiorno Italia'' was an Italian morning television show, broadcast by Canale 5 between 1981 and 1984, and reprised for a final season in 1987–8. History Among the first morning programs of the Italian television, it was inspired by ''Goo ...

'' (

, 1987–1988) * ''Campo base - Il mondo dell'avventura'' (

TV Koper-Capodistria TV Koper Capodistria is a Slovene free-to-air television channel based in Koper, Slovenia. Mainly funded by state aid, the channel serves the Italian-speaking minority in Slovenia and Croatia. It can also be received in the Italian region of ...

, 1989–1991; TELE+2, 1990–1991) * ''Speciale campo base'' (

, 1989–1991; TELE+2, 1990–1991)

Radio documentary

* ''Poli Mirabilia - La marcia sul pack e altre meraviglie'' (

Rai Radio 1 Rai Radio 1 (''Radio Uno'') is an Italian radio channel operated by the state-owned public-broadcasting organisation RAI and specialising in news, sports, talk programmes, and popular music. History The channel is the direct descendant of th ...

, 1984)

Documentary

* ''Ambrogio Fogar - il viaggio'' (

, 1998) * ''Ambrogio Fogar, l'ultimo eroe'' (

Rete 4 Rete 4 (in English Network 4, also known as Retequattro) is an Italian free-to-air television channel operated by Mediaset and owned by MFE - MediaForEurope MediaForEurope, officially MFE – MediaForEurope N.V., formerly Mediaset Grou ...

, 2005)

Books

* * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

* * * * * 1941 births 1970s missing person cases 2005 deaths 20th-century Italian sportsmen 20th-century Italian writers 21st-century Italian writers Burials at the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano Circumnavigators of the globe Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Formerly missing Italian people Italian explorers Italian male sailors (sport) Italian sailors Italian television presenters Italian wheelchair users People from Milan People with tetraplegia Single-handed circumnavigating sailors Single-handed sailors Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore alumni {{italy-tv-bio-stub