The Journal
Ticino rustico stays: sleeping in traditional stone houses
By Marguerite & Alexandre · Published on
South of the Alps, Ticino built in stone: thick walls, stone-slab roofs, whole villages that seem to have grown out of the ground. These houses — the rustici — tell of a hard, ingenious life. Many were abandoned in the 20th century; the finest rebirths are recent, and two of them are in our collection.
The albergo diffuso, or how a village becomes a hotel
The concept comes from Italy: rather than building a hotel, the rooms are spread across the existing houses of a village, with a shared reception and table. The whole village becomes the hotel — and finds a reason to live again.
Corippo — the smallest village in Switzerland, brought back to life
In the heart of the Verzasca valley, Corippo was an abandoned village whose rustic houses seemed frozen forever. Désirée and Jeremy turned it into an albergo diffuso: keeping the charm of the old and the history of the village to give it a new life — that was their project. Ten rooms spread across the houses of the village — Osteria, Casa Siro, Casa Martino, Casa Angolina, Casa Luigino — where ancestral Ticino heritage and minimalist architecture combine with today's comfort.
The experience is cradled by simple pleasures: nature, calm, good produce, the essentials — with the village osteria as your table. The buildings date from 1668; nights start at CHF 180, and the smallest village in Switzerland reveals itself from the very first night.
Il Cortiletto — a three-hundred-year-old house in Cavigliano
At the gates of Locarno, in the historic centre of Cavigliano, Nathalie and Chris fell under the spell of a three-hundred-year-old house arranged around a traditional courtyard in 2014. When renovating Il Cortiletto, they chose to reveal the authenticity of the place rather than transform it: beneath the layers of paint, they rediscovered and restored delicate lime-based wall decorations, witnesses to the craftsmanship of the past.
As soon as the fine days arrive, the inner courtyard becomes a haven of peace where tables and chairs are set out for meals in the open air. Two rooms and a holiday apartment (from CHF 160 per night), with Locarno and Ascona about fifteen minutes away by train or car.
Wild valley or the gentleness of the villages?
Corippo is the Verzasca: green water, stone, silence — a vertical, wild Ticino. Cavigliano is the gentleness of the Terre di Pedemonte, a stone's throw from the lakes and markets. The two combine very well in a single trip: less than an hour's drive separates them.
Booking
Booking is made directly with Désirée and Jeremy, or with Nathalie and Chris, from their pages. And to continue the stone road, our homes in Graubünden are on the other side of the passes — the full guide to the collection is here.
