The Smallest Village in Switzerland Has Been Saved From Disappearing-For Now

"Despite its picturesque setting in the heart of Switzerland's Southern Alps, Corippo isn't a tourist hot spot. In 2019, it was on the brink of becoming a ghost town as its population dwindled to just nine residents, all of whom were elderly. This earned Corippo the title of smallest municipality in Switzerland, prompting news headlines as local officials scrambled to save the village from depopulation."

"When I visited it in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I didn't meet a single person while wandering its narrow alleyways lined with stone buildings-typical of the Verzasca Valley where it's located. In many ways, this village felt as if it were frozen in time, only a ringing clock tower bell served as a reminder of every passing hour."

Corippo is a tiny, fairy-tale-like hamlet in the Verzasca Valley in Ticino, Switzerland, accessible by a single narrow road. The population fell to nine elderly residents by 2019, making it the country’s smallest municipality and risking depopulation. Historic stone buildings and narrow alleyways gave the village a frozen-in-time feel, with only a clock tower marking hours. In 2022 the village became Switzerland’s first Albergo Diffuso, converting abandoned historic structures into dispersed hotel rooms. The Fondazione Corippo led restorations to create bed-and-breakfast-style accommodations to boost the local economy and attract visitors. Local managers now live onsite.

Read at Travel + Leisure