Why Is There A Tiny Bit Of Italy Inside Switzerland?
Video Overview & Insights
In one corner of southern Switzerland, there is a tiny piece of Italy that seems to have accidentally broken off from the rest of the country. So what is it doing there? I travelled to beautiful Lake Lugano to see for myself...
I was there last month, really nice - the little restaurants on the waterfront are a bit pricey but the view is worth the difference. The ferry across from Lugano is the best way.
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1:31 isn't that true for every exclave? To be one you need to be on another country making you an enclave.
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IMAGE CREDITS
The background music during the casino description wasn't lost on everyone! :D
Mario Botta by Sanyam Bahga - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MarioBotta.JPG
Chess pieces by Michael Maggs - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chess_piece_-_White_pawn.JPG
I remember driving by that area on the other side across the lake, and I didnât know it was a portion of Italy. Also, I didnât know that building was a casino, it looks almost like a government building to me.
Milanese Arch by Filip MaljkoviÄ - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Triumphal_arch_in_Milan_(8870285141).jpg
The Venetian Las Vegas by Stefan Wagener - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Las_Vegas_%2822096749969%29.jpg
5:08 So his surname is Champion. I like it. Yeah I know no one really had a surname at the time.
"Venetian" gondolier by Martijn Nijenhuis - https://www.flickr.com/photos/martijnnijenhuis/5062323364
Croissant by Skopp - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Croissant,_whole.jpg
Just gonna say it. I like the architecture on the casino. But then I like more modern architecture and find old fashioned architecture boring to the point of it being painful.
"Paris" by Ken Lund - https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlund/66688746
Swissminiatur by Ilario - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swiss_miniatur_1.jpg
A very well researched and narrated piece of history.
More User Perspectives
The Grand Designs theme. Nice touch.
@hauptuhrdotnetblog6700I'm surprised that a YouTuber hasn't shown up there with a cheap inflatable Godzilla suit and just walked around the miniatures.
@ES-19845:16 LOL arch bishop! Took me a second. đ
@gscottoliverIt looks like a prison.
@mwest3583Loved the we are the champions piano version in the background
@ivo3111So nice to finally watch something none AI thanks đđ»
@gkPL79lets do an informal and unscientific poll here; who thinks this casino is indeed and eyesore / doesn't remotely fit in with the landscape?
@RS-bk5idThat building is full on ugly.
@BryonLapeI visited this region in Fall 2022. đ€©So beautiful. I took a ferry from Lugano to Marcote and we navigated past Campione. This part of CH is so beautiful - highly recommend!
@HDDude1981A small part from Germany is also in Switzerland. This is nothing special.
@anoplogasterSiamo i campioni, amici
E continueremo a combattere
Siamo i campioni
Siamo i campioni
Non abbiamo tempo per i perdenti
Perché siamo i campioni
Campioni del mondo
you might want to know that campione also means sample in italian
@remot3kontrolThis must be a nightmare in terms of Swiss-EU customs arrangements on goods?
@Elizabeth-vh6ilpeople of campione, please get that awful casino demolished...
@juans.guitarraI love how interesting places are.
@matthewfoster858I'm not going to even wait til I've watched this, but I'll take a wild guess that the Papacy and the Vatican will be involved with it. Regards from a bloke who is extremely suspicious of ANYTHING Pope related.
@paulmorgancollings7833great video
@yvindfjrtoft7689Awesome video! That casino is probably the ugliest building I've ever seen, sorry Mario.
@MartinaVallaI can't get over the fact that you havent shown a single image of actual venice lmao
@wencio3201So basically Switzerland should give back parts to italy
@DanKing-b5f@The Tim Traveller: Beside these historical and architectural facts, the cable-car project up to the Sighignola has to be mentioned, lying directly above Campione dâItalia, belonging as well to Italy. What great planning! They started to construct it, when it was getting obvious, that the cable car supports had been put insufficiently and the cabin could not pass a huge rock uphills. So, they abandoned the projectâŠ
@stephandrube8658Went here last month to visit my friend, we rented a pedal boat and crossed the lake. i got to touch the big rock wall that technically was italian territory. Was definitely worth it pedalling for 2 hours under the 30° heat! đđ»đđ»
@ReinbrandtAs society declines, more casinos are born.
@jameswill175Campione also means "sample"
@italgongHi Tim, if you are ever back in Belgium or the Netherlands you might want to explore the border in and around Baarle-Hertog. Check out this link: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEwYOGmmRME0yKKpSkqmRyFho_W-OIJeDnwaq6uxTlLQTdY7p1ZPJ5ko8ITNR-4MhfWS0r3OQ1BbSvFqMMio8WbB9UFw6JuCfMBDH9FpEA359XKDU3xCA1igq48svZbuEsvnsMl9BIWyK/s1008/Baarle+Hertog+Nassau+map.jpg
@hughlaxton7852
Kaliningrad..
@carabosse4Loving the Swiss flag minus signs
@philreed1605Great story, thank you!
@theeyeofthebeholder7099Caesar wasn't a Christian, he died before Jesus Christ was born.
@sandrawiegardI'm half Italian and half Swiss. I never knew what it is all about this piece of land, until a youtuber from England explained to me, in English.
@thomasusai6708How's the building "faceless"? You're absolutely allowed to dislike it(read as: to have bad taste), but saying it's not unique or featureless is just an objectively a wrong statement
@erikosericosAre you really able to travel through tim?
@teskioThe way my shoulders tensed up hearing the Unsolved Mysteries theme, my god that childhood terror persists
@abydosianchulac2European history be like...
@wackadoofox6556I love your description of the casino architecture.
@nonenoneonenonenoneNevernmind the video. The transition from "we are the chapions" to "bohemian rapsody" is the best part of it all. (at around 8:40 ) I love Queen
@jmmrlppn5117There is also a bit of French in Switzerland..........
@christinecallahan5512You really nailed the Pronunciations.
@JérÎmeSteamPilotRöthlisbergerLove the Intro music!
@JérÎmeSteamPilotRöthlisbergerWe live in Ticino and go to Campione often bc of the beauty and peaceful atmosphere. But the economy has suffered, tho it still feels like a mini Monaco.
@janetthomas8244Interesting but that casino looks awful!
@GiovanniMazzeo-r1nnice
@mleite2025We are the champions piano version
genious