Nicolás Mascardi was an Italian jesuit priest and missioner in South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 in the 17th century. He arrived to Chile in 1651. In 1669 he crossed the Andes from Chiloé Archipelago

Chiloé Archipelago

Chiloé Archipelago consists of several islands lying off the coast of Chile. It is separated from mainland Chile by Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and Gulf of Corcovado to the southeast. All of the archipelago except Desertores Islands, which are part of Palena...

 and did notably established a mission in the shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake

Nahuel Huapi Lake

Nahuel Huapi Lake is a lake in the lake region of northern Patagonia between the provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén, in Argentina. The lake depression consists of several glacial valleys carved out along faults and Miocene valleys that were later dammed by moraines.Nahuel Huapi lake, located...

 which lasted until his death. From the mission he and his fellow jesuits engaged in missionary activity among the Poyas, Pehuenche

Pehuenche

Pehuenches are an indigenous people that are part of the Mapuche peoples and live in the Andes in south central Chile and Argentina. Their name derives from their habit of harvesting of piñones, the seeds of the Araucaria araucana or pehuén...

s and Puelche

Puelche

Puelche is the name that the Mapuche used to give the ethnic groups who inhabited the lands to the east of the Andes Mountains including the northern Tehuelches and Hets, these last ones were also known as the Pampas or Querandíes...

s. He died in 1673 after being attacked by native Tehuelches during one of his exploration trips in the southern Andes. Villa Mascardi

Villa Mascardi

Villa Mascardi is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina. It is named after the 17th century Jesuit Nicolás Mascardi who was active in the Nahuel Huapi area. Villa Mascardi lies at the shores of Mascardi Lake.-References:...

 and Mascardi Lake

Mascardi Lake

Mascardi Lake is a lake in the lake region of northern Patagonia in Río Negro Province in Argentina. The lake depression consists of several glacial valleys carved out along faults and Miocene valleys that were later dammed by moraines. The lake is named after Nicolás Mascardi a 17th century...

 in present-day Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

are named after him.