Juan Antonio Varese was born in 1942 in Montevideo, Uruguay. When he was young, he was fascinated by adventure books. First, he read Emil Salgari, Robert Louis Stevenson and Jules Verne, and then he turned to tales of travellers and explorers. 

Varese travelled around the world to get to know different people and styles of life. Later he studied the history of religion at the Catholic University of Uruguay (Ucudal) and photography at the Uruguayan Photo Club. When he was president of this institution, from 1989 to 1991, he began to study the history of photography in this country. He is a collector of daguerreotypes, photographs and postcards of historical subjects.

Between 1984 and 1990 he co-produced many audiovisuals about neighbourhoods and traditions in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.

Since 1988 he has written a lot of articles in different newspapers and magazines in Uruguay and other countries. He is a member of the International Council of Museums (Icom-Uruguay) and a founding member of the Uruguayan Academy of Maritime and River History.

Shipwrecks and photography are two of the most important items in Varese’s bibliography. As a writer he has published: “Shipwrecks and Legends of the Coasts of Rocha”, “Memories of the Drum” (with Tomás Olivera), “A Journey to Old Montevideo” (with Carlos Menck), “Memoirs of José María Silva: Gardel’s Photographer”, “Stories and Legends of Flores Island” (with Eduardo Langguth), “Gastronomy on the Coast of Rocha”, “Rocha, Land of Adventure” and “The Shipwreck of the Vigilante”.

He is currently doing research on two subjects; shipwrecks in the River Plate, and on the history of photography in Uruguay.

Juan Varese wants to get in touch with researchers, lovers of the sea, people interested in shipwrecks, and treasure hunters, in order to exchange information, photographs, old maps, anecdotes and recent discoveries.

Also, he wants to connect with researchers and collectors of daguerreotypes, old photographs and postcards.

torredelvigia@movinet.com.uy

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