Landscape & Resources
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.
Elevation range of the historic core above Lake Vogorno.
Territory covered by forest, primarily chestnut and mixed hardwood.
Total land available for agriculture, carved into dry-stone terraces.
Corippo clings to the western slope of the Verzasca Valley, looking down onto Lake Vogorno and the mid-century dam that reshaped the valley floor. The municipal territory spans 7.73 km², yet the village footprint barely covers two hectares because steep ridges and rocky scree dominate the rest.
Living on a ledge meant accepting vertical commutes. Footpaths, mule tracks, and stone steps align like contour lines, carrying residents toward seasonal pastures or riverside mills while keeping walls anchored to the slope.
Hundreds of dry-stone retaining walls turn cliff-like gradients into thin, arable ribbons. Families co-owned plots, rotating maintenance duties to keep piers upright and irrigation channels clear. Each wall was effectively a shared piece of infrastructure, not a private fence.
The resulting haufendorf layout funneled houses toward the piazza to preserve arable soil. Narrow alleys double as drainage, while staircases leapfrog roofs to reach more terraces above. That density still defines the village silhouette viewed from across the valley.
With arable ground scarce, forests supplied timber, chestnuts, and grazing clearings. Communal bylaws dictated how much wood a family could cut, when goats moved between belts, and how coppiced chestnut trees were rejuvenated. The forest was both pantry and protective buffer against landslides.
Even today, excursions through Bosco di Corippo reveal pollarded chestnuts and grazing terraces stacked up the slope, evidence of centuries of forest choreography.