The Valle Onsernone is one of the wildest and quietest valleys in Ticino. Steep slopes, chestnut forests and terraced vineyards characterise the landscape. Deep below, the Isorno winds its way through the valley, fed by countless streams that find their way over granite basins and waterfalls across the rock faces. In summer, a cooling dip; in autumn, the scent of wood fires.
Between poverty and beauty
The terraces tell of the hard life in the valley. For centuries, poverty drove people to foreign lands – whether to fight under Napoleon in France or to build a new life in America. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the inhabitants tried to earn an income by weaving straw and selling straw hats. These stories are preserved in the Museo Onsernonese in Loco.
At the very back of the valley, half an hour’s walk behind Spruga, lie the ruins of the Bagni di Craveggia on Italian soil – a former spa hotel that closed in 1921. Silent witnesses to another era, including the tragic events at the end of the Second World War.
Artists and writers
Perhaps it was precisely this seclusion that made the valley so attractive to artists and writers. Berzona, Loco’s neighbouring village, became a village of poets: Golo Mann, Alfred Andersch and Max Frisch found their retreats here. The sophisticated town of Ascona is far away. Here you can find peace and quiet in nature – and space to think.
Today
The Valle Onsernone has retained its original character. The narrow road that winds through the valley is now paved, but the valley itself remains a place of deceleration. Those who come here are not looking for hustle and bustle, but for the tranquillity between granite rocks and chestnut trees. And perhaps they will find what Alfred Andersch and Max Frisch sought here – and what moved the Walser family so deeply.
