Swiss Review 1/2020

Swiss Review / January 2020 / No.1 10 Report GERHARD LOB The street leads steeply upwards, passing by the 220-me- tre-high Verzasca Dam, which became world famous when James Bond jumped off it in the movie “GoldenEye”. And then it runs alongside the damuntil you finally catch sight of Corippo. The small village is perched on the right side of the valley like a bird’s nest; the stone houses and slate-covered roofs seem to merge into one with the ter- raced slopes and surroundings. The church tower is in the centre of the village. The first thing visitors see on enter- ing the village is a small cemetery. However, the All Saints’ Day candles have burnt down, and the flowers have wilted. It should be rather romantic, but with rain and a light snowfall, the little village appears sad and unwelcoming on this wintry afternoon. There is a sign reading “Chiuso – geschlossen seit 30 Oktober” (Closed since 30 October), in front of the only Osteria (restaurant) in the village, which is a popular stop-off for hikers in summer. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the municipality only has eleven inhabitants with an average age of 70 plus. This makes it the smallest municipality in Switzerland, although not for much longer: inApril, Corippowill become a district of the joint municipality of Verzasca. Nowadays, many houses in Corippo are empty or only used as holiday residences in summer. During its heyday in 1850, almost 300 people lived there. Since then, things have gone downhill. Corippo has suffered the same fate as all of Valle Verzasca and other Alpine regions in northern Ticino. Poverty combined with a lack of work and income led to an exodus. The roman à clef on Ticino history, “Il fondo del sacco” by Plinio Martini (in English: “No begin- ning, no end”) about emigrants from Valle Maggia, could easily have taken place in Valle Verzasca. The superlative of being the smallest municipality in Switzerland still applies to Corippo for now. However, the locals do not seem to think a great deal of this. And they want to speak about it even less. Questions from outsiders on the state of the smallest municipality are answered grumpily or simply ignored. “Everyone hasmigrated down the valley,” murmurs a senior citizen, who quickly closes the garden door behind him. Corippo has not had a working local government for many years. The 55-year-old Claudio Scettrini, a forestry worker and the youngest inhabitant in the tiny place, was the last president of the municipality. Together with his aunt and his sister-in-law, he made up the municipal council. “How- ever, we always had to run everything past the canton, and in the end, nothing ever happened,” said Scettrini, when he resigned in frustration in 2017. Since then, the municipal- ity has been managed externally. A village is to become a hotel With just eleven inhabitants, the village of Corippo in Ticino is tiny – the smallest municipality in Switzerland. However, not for long: in just a few months, the hamlet will be merged with the municipality of Valle Verzasca. However, one major question remains: what economic prospects does a tiny Alpine village with an elderly population have? Higher, further, faster, more beauti- ful? In search of the somewhat different Swiss records. Today: The smallest Swiss community e tremes Swiss