The development and history of bronchoscopy have accompanied my professional life. The history of bronchoscopy is a story of pioneers, intuition, ideas, courage, technological innovation, passion, and mentorship… An encounter with an extraordinary illustrator, Manlio Mazzoni, gave rise to the idea of portraying the bronchial tree as a cave to be explored, with the bronchoscopist depicted as a speleologist equipped with the instruments of modern technology. Throughout the hundreds of courses and conferences I have attended, I have shared these images and cartoons, now collected in this book on the history of bronchoscopy, to illustrate the major milestones of this fascinating journey. Stefano Gasparini