ABOUT US
My name is Alessandro Marchetti and with my wife Antonella Tinarelli have founded Astrophototour, I have been passionate about astronomy since I was a child and in ’95 I started working as a volunteer at the observatory and planetarium of the Persicetani Astronomy Group, based in the province of Bologna, in northern Italy. Over the years I have multiplied my knowledge of astronomy and still today I always have something new to discover and learn. In these years I have had the pleasure of sharing this wonderful science with thousands of people through the telescope and scientific publication. In the same period I approached astronomical photography always keeping up with the latest technologies, I started when people were still shooting on film with completely manual cameras, the strong passion led me to spend whole nights in the hills and step by step I perfected more and more the technique.
Since 2022 I obtained the title of “Monitor Starlight”, awarded by the Starlight Foundation, I’m proud to be part of this family that for almost 20 years has been fighting for the defense of that heritage of humanity: the night sky.
In the last 20 years in northern Italy and as in most of Europe, the light pollution of the sky has greatly increased; it is now almost impossible to find a dark and clear sky, even with very powerful telescopes seeing the objects of the deep sky is a feat. Today, with the latest generation electronic sensors, anti-pollution filters and software dedicated to telescope control, it is possible to capture images unthinkable 20 years ago, but the problem of “direct vision” remains in Europe as in most of the world. it is not more possible to “give” people the wonders of the universe by looking inside the telescope.
That’s why I decided to move to Tenerife, here is one of the most beautiful skies in the world, protected by strict laws that limit light pollution as much as possible, here I can continue to do what I started 25 years ago: Make known astronomy to people, sharing what I know and what I am continuing to learn. Astronomy is the science that most evolves, that adapts to new discoveries, that makes you dream and hope the most, and there is no greater satisfaction in seeing the wonder of people in approaching the eye to the telescope, in understanding an abstract concept, or give the opportunity to a young enthusiast like me to understand that to take a spectacular photo often you don’t need very expensive equipment, but an impeccable technique.
Here was born Astrophototour, not a simple company with the aim of making cash on mass tourism but a reference to try a real “experience”, in my company and a couple of selected collaborators. We are primarily concerned with the wonder and satisfaction of people in discovering the secrets of the cosmos, through small groups of people where it becomes possible to interact better and adapt the explanation based on their knowledge, also answering the endless questions that inevitably arise during this kind of experience.
