Living archive of the Verzasca Valley
Seven Centuries of Corippo
Corippo has negotiated a sheer Ticinese slope since the 1200s, balancing terraced agriculture, diaspora remittances, and architectural stewardship. Today the village experiments with hospitality-led preservation while honoring its micro-society roots.
The Verzasca Valley cradles Corippo between 558 and 563 meters above sea level, where only 0.9% of the land can be farmed and 0.3% hosts buildings. Every stone wall, piazza, and goat path is a reaction to scarcity.
Successive generations refined a communal governance model, exported skills across Europe and Australia, and ultimately reinvented themselves as a scattered hotel so the village would stay inhabited rather than fossilized.
Seven centuries in motion
- 1224
First written mention as Culipo in a local testament.
- 1374
Name evolves to Quorippo; the village tightens ties to Vogorno parish.
- 1822
Corippo gains political independence from Vogorno.
- 1850
Population peaks near 300 residents supported by rye, hemp, and goats.
- 1975
Village core receives national monument protection; Fondazione Corippo forms.
- 2020
Municipal merger creates the new Comune di Verzasca.
- 2022
Albergo Diffuso Corippo opens with ten rooms in restored houses.
Deep-dive topics
Each essay connects the dots between geography, economy, architecture, migration, and the contemporary Albergo Diffuso experiment.
Landscape & Resources
Geography, Land Use, and Vertical Ingenuity
A promontory above Lake Vogorno forced Corippo to condense into a haufendorf cluster, terrace every patch of soil, and synchronize people, goats, and forests across 7.73 km² of mostly steep terrain.
Explore this era →13th-18th Centuries
Medieval Times and Communal Governance
From its 1224 appearance as Culipo to its 14th-century spelling "Quorippo," the village shared churches, mills, and political oversight with Vogorno while perfecting the vicinato collective governance model.
Explore this era →Peak Population Era
19th-Century Zenith and Agrarian-Pastoral Life
Political autonomy in 1822 ushered in Corippo's population high-water mark around 1850, when roughly 300 residents synchronized terraces, rye ovens, hemp processing, goats, and seasonal migration.
Explore this era →Material Culture
Architecture, Craft, and the Science of the Rustico
Granite walls, piode roofs, chestnut beams, and light-reflecting lime collars turned necessity into architecture admired by European faculties and protected as a national monument since 1975.
Explore this era →Mobility & Memory
Diaspora, Seasonal Work, and Global Echoes
Chimney-sweeping children, gold-seeking families, and North American miners carried Corippo knowledge abroad, sending remittances back home and seeding traditions like bullboar sausage on other continents.
Explore this era →20th-21st Century Reinvention
Preservation, Fondazione Corippo, and the Albergo Diffuso
Monument protection, the 1975 foundation, cultural labs, and the 2022 Albergo Diffuso project keep Corippo inhabited, funding restoration while inviting guests to live alongside the remaining residents.
Explore this era →Stay in Corippo
Discover carefully restored traditional houses, each offering a unique window into Corippo's timeless charm
