Ticino
Switzerland is one of my favorite places to visit. Where else can you enjoy beautiful vistas, crisp air, and infrastructure that runs like clockwork? That said, I much prefer Italian food, la dolce vita, and the friendliness of the Italian people. Thankfully, there is a place that combines the best of both. Italians call it Ticino, Germans call it Tessin, and I call it heaven.
Ticino is a canton in the southern end of Switzerland, bordering Italy near lake Como and Milan. It’s the only Swiss canton where the official language is Italian, and it enjoys a Mediterranean climate with more sunshine than other regions of the country.
Perched high up on the hills are towns where the locals greet you for a pizza and beer. Drive down below and you might find unattended food stands by the side of the road where you can pick up some delicious cheese or gelato and pay on the honor system. The roads are so clean that you could eat off them (but I recommend sticking to the gelato). Even the notorious speed cameras seem to be missing in these parts.
Of course, if you’re like me, you might be wondering how this little slice of Italian heaven became part of Switzerland. Before Italy was even a twinkle in Garibaldi's eye, around 1100 CE, Ticino was at the center of conflict between the communes of Milan and Como. From 1440-1515 CE, the Swiss Confederacy decided they wanted a piece of the action and conquered various parts of the region. Not to be outdone, Napoleon swooped in later and created two cantons, Bellinzona and Lugano, which were eventually unified in 1803 into the canton as we know it today.
If you’ve never been to this corner of the world, I highly recommend coming. Whether you stay in the major cities of Bellinzona and Lugano, or you visit some of the romantic smaller ones like Morcote or Leontica, I don’t think you can go wrong. Just remember, in Ticino, you can have your Swiss cheese and eat your gelato too.