Advertisement

Soglio named most beautiful Swiss village

The Local
The Local - [email protected]
Soglio named most beautiful Swiss village
View of Soglio in the canton of Graubünden. Photo: Switzerland Tourism

Soglio, a settlement nestled in the mountains of the canton of Graubünden near the Italian border, has been named Switzerland’s most beautiful village of the year.

Advertisement

The village, perched on a south-facing bench of land overlooked by spiky peaks in the Bergell region, beat out 49 others for the 2015 honour, organizers said on Thursday.

It was selected by a vote of around 35,000 people organized by the Schweizer Ilustrierte and L’Illustré magazines, in conjunction with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation.

With around 300 Italian-speaking residents, Soglio is famous for catching the attention of 19th century Italian-Swiss painter Giovanni Segantini (1858-1899), who called it the “gateway to paradise”.

Its narrow stone streets weave between historic homes huddled around the St. Lorenzo church, whose belfry dominates the community.

The Palazzo Salis, a 17th century hotel with gardens visited by Segantini, was named historic hotel of the year in 1998.

An event to celebrate Soglio’s honour is planned in the municipality for early October, Schweizer Ilustrierte said.

Soglio beat out eight other finalists, including Guarda, another Graubünden village.

Others in the running included Romainmôtier and Yvorne (in the canton of Vaud), Charmey (Fribourg), Cerlier/Erlach (Bern), Werdenberg (Saint Gallen), and Bosco Gurin and Corippo (Ticino).

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also