Bellinzona, Switzerland

Bellinzona has a sort of Italian charm not found in Lugano or Locarno, the locals will volunteer to help you out with their confusing bus system that never arrives or departs on time and shopkeepers will gladly offer a discount if you negotiate in Italian. Of the 22 cantons that I have visited, it is clearly the friendliest canton of Switzerland.

Since the year 2000, Bellinzona’s three well-preserved castles have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. All three castles were built between the 13th and 14th centuries making it one of the oldest defence systems in Switzerland. The two lower castles, Catelgrande and Montebello are integrated into the city walls – the Murata, that stretches on for several kilometres.

The largely medieval Castelgrande, or Grand Castle, was actually built to replace a castle built in the Middle Ages, which was built on top of Roman fortifications since about 100 BC. Inside, there is museum on medieval art that was displayed inside the castle. Outside, you can climb onto one of the towers and walk along the wall for a great view of the city and the upper castles.

When Ticino was admitted into the Swiss Confederation for protection from Napoleon as an associate canton of the confederation, it was under the administration of three German-speaking central cantons, that’s why the Montebello used to be named the Schwyz Castle. There is a rather boring archeological museum inside the castle, so if you don’t have a museum pass save yourself a few Francs and move on to the Sasso Corbaro.

There’s a right way and a wrong way to reach the Sasso Corbaro, the wrong way is to take the hourly bus up to the top and the right way is to hike up to the peak at 800 meters above sea level. The hike is quite interesting and allows you to take photos along the way as well as to visit the bright yellow Chiesa de San Sebastiano, or St. Sebastian Church. The Sasso Corbano is open only between March and November and houses temporary exhibits, this time, it was a photo exhibition of castles around Europe.

Back on ground level, the Oratorium Corpus Domini is the main town church on Piazza Collegiata. Move along to Via Camminata to find a multitude of banks, restaurants, and lots of clothing stores, Italians sure love their fashion! The Palazzo Civico is the town hall with a restored Italian fresco in the central yard. Piazza Indipendenza marks the end of the old town with a monument that commemorates Ticino’s admission into the confederation as an autonomous canton.