turing dozens of photos, protected by glass, of Campo residents who emigrated to the US in the early 20th century.Olga remembers what the village was like when she was 20 years old, in the early 1960s. At that time, Campo still had a school, and its families still owned cows. The farmers passed on. Their children learned other trades in Locarno and got married. “I watched Campo die: its doors began to close, and they never reopened, except in summer,” she says. Olga cannot see a future for this valley. Its mayor, Mauro Gobbi, is doing what he can. He recalls the efforts to stem the ‘frana’, the potential landslide large enough to engulf the village. Work on a Herculean scale was done in the 1980s and 1990s to shore up the ground. “Come and live here!” The municipality decided to reduce its local taxes. It renovated some of its buildings, such as the Cimalmotto School (above Campo). The school became apartments, three of which are currently rented as second homes. These measures drew in some retirees, but no families. In Niva, where Gobbi lives, the municipal council is pinning its hopes on restoring the former school, which closed in 1967, to solve the problem. The school could become two apartments where people could live “even in the winter”, the mayor hopes. He too is up in arms against Weber’s law, which according to him has made renovating properties more difficult. Covid ushered in the era of remote working. A lawyer from Lugano, for example, spends part of the year working from Cimalmotto. Gobbi has also just launched a campaign to encourage people to come and live up here in the mountains. There is always the option of converting your second home into a permanent residence. The Senn family get back to nature Life in the vicinity of wolves, against a backdrop worthy of the “Lord of the Rings”. The Senn family, including their six children, have been enjoying this adventurous lifestyle since the 1980s. These “hippies” from the canton of Zurich settled on a plot of land in a place known as Munt la Reita. This remote pasture, which at the time featured only three small stables, is now home to an organic farm whose products include cheese and meat. It hosts hikers, schoolchildren and voluntary workers. Visitors can choose between sleeping in a yurt on the side of the hill, in their tent or in small wood cabins. In the evening, the river Rovana lulls them to sleep. During the day, they can help gather aromatic herbs or hike up to the Magnello Alpine pasture, at an altitude of 1,800 metres. The lady of the house here is Verena. She used to be a librarian, and is now a farmer. Markus, who died in 2022, was a typographer. He built everything here with his own hands, and the help of friends and family. These pioneers made their dream come true: “We wanted to farm the land organically and show our children real life,” explains Verena. Their arrival drew scorn initially. The Senns originally stayed in the Campo church hall. “It was cold in there, but we’re resilient!” laughs Samuel Senn, who is still up in the mountains with his brothers Eli and Luca and his sister Gabriela. (SH) Mayor Mauro Gobbi (top left) is hoping to see some impetus; Olga speaks of the village she saw die (right); Vincenzo Pedrazzini (bottom), on the other hand, believes in the power of investment. Photos: Stéphane Herzog Samuel Senn Verena Senn Swiss Review / July 2024 / No.4 28 Report
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