The plight of the airship Italia and its crew was closely followed by the whole world. In spite of the Fascist Italian government’s attempts to discredit him, he was greeted by two hundred thousand cheering Italians when he returned to Italy after his rescue. Sadly, his former friend Roald Amundsen, with whom he had been locked in a feud since their joint trip on the airship Norge, died in the search for the Italia. This fascinating tale of rivalry, endurance and survival has been the topic of many publications in the past eight decades.