Switzerland has around 260 automatic monitoring stations like the one at Locarno-Monti. This groundbased network goes by the name of SwissMetNet. The MeteoSwiss base in Locarno is a scientific hub that produces statistics and evaluates weather data. Situated in its garden, the Specola Solare Ticinese is a solar observatory that was built in the International Geophysical Year of 1957. The Specola Solare Ticinese is dedicated to counting the relative sunspot number (or “Wolf number”). Until 1980, it was an external observing station of the former Eidgenössische Sternwarte (federal observatory) at ETH Zurich. It has been privately operated since then, providing data to the Royal Observatory of Belgium, the institution responsible for publishing the relative sunspot number. Fun fact: sunspot maps are still drawn by hand. Another solar research institute, the Istituto Ricerche Solari Locarno (IRSOL), is situated a little further up the mountain, slightly hidden amid the verdant greenery. IRSOL is devoted to solar physics. The German university of Göttingen founded IRSOL in 1960 and managed it until 1984. It had scouted out various locations in Europe but eventually settled on Locarno as the most suitable place, due to its position and its abundant hours of sunshine. There were partnerships with a number of universities in the 1990s, including ETH Zurich in particular. IRSOL is now affiliated to the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Lugano. Michele Bianda worked as managing director at IRSOL for many years but is now retired. “We have a special device at our disposal, called ZIMPOL. It is a high-precision solar polarimeter,” he says. Good for science, bad for skiing Science and research evidently play a key role on the Cardada-Cimetta mountain. However, climate change means there are drawbacks to having so much sun. Cardada-Cimetta was a ski resort for a long time. Gliding down freshly prepared pistes above Lake Maggiore used to be a magical experience. In point of fact, there was a ski lift that predated the cable car. Snow at intermediate altitudes has become less frequent, which is why Michele Bianda of the IRSOL solar research institute. Photo: Gerhard Lob the decision was taken in 2019 to close the ski lifts. Nearly all of these lifts have since been dismantled, not least because they are too expensive to maintain for the rare times they are used. Cimetta is now geared to summer activities instead. In winter, some people still come to go walking, snowshoe hiking, or ski touring when it does actually snow. Sunshine is good for body and soul. But the sun astonishingly plays only a minor role lin helping to advertise Cardada-Cimetta as a resort, even though it is depicted in the tourist logo. The mountain is being pushed as a recreation and hiking area for the whole family. It was a different story during the pioneering days of tourism in Ticino at the end of the 19th century, when the Gotthard railway opened. Some official posters back then compared sunshine hours in Locarno and Lugano with those in London and Hamburg. The cliché of Ticino as Switzerland’s sunniest place is now just that – a cliché. From ski resort to hiking destination – nearly all the ski lifts at Cardada-Cimetta have been dismantled. Photo: ascona-locarno.com Swiss Review / August 2023 / No.4 Report 16
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