A border between poverty and persecution

“Smuggling and the border”

1 How did the border between Italy and Switzerland come about? Every law has a loophole: Why was smuggling here on a scale unheard of elsewhere?

2 Mules (smugglers)

In Italy, some goods were subject to a monopoly or were heavily taxed and therefore very expensive. The difference in prices led to intense goods traffic from Switzerland to Italy. For Switzerland, this trade was not illegal, as it was detrimental only to the Italian tax authorities. In the past, extreme poverty was the main reason for practising the hard and dangerous “profession” of smuggling.

  • No details, 1955
  • Maglio di Colla, Val Colla, 1914
  • Spruga, Valle Onsernone, 1899

3 Traders

Smuggling was an important economic activity in Switzerland. The shops and innkeepers in the border area who supplied the mules with goods and provisions did a roaring trade.

  • Border shops today, Novazzano, 2021
  • Border crossing between Stabio and Rodero, 1925
  • Roggiana, 1915
  • Novazzano, 1920
  • Alpe del Bonello, Valle di Muggio, 1914. As well as a restaurant, Alpe del Bonello, just a stone's throw from the border, also had a warehouse for goods to be smuggled

4 The tobacco trade

One of the most frequently smuggled goods was tobacco. The tobacco industry grew in Ticino in the second half of the 19th century and soon became one of the main economic sectors. Ticino's proximity to smuggling routes played an important role.

  • Advertising poster for the Polus tobacco factory in Balerna
  • Women at work in the Orienta factory in Lugano, 1937. Note the “No chatting” sign
  • Unloading of tobacco leaves at the Brissago tobacco factory, 1923
  • Cigar makers in the Brissago tobacco factory, 1923
  • Map from 1910 showing the tobacco factories, mostly along the border near the smuggling routes

5 The border on land

After 1517, the land in the Sottoceneri region became part of Switzerland, but it was not until the 1552 agreement between Emperor Charles V and the Swiss rulers that the borders were defined. During the reign of Maria Theresa of Austria, the borders were detailed in the Treaty of Varese (1752). After the unification of Italy in 1861 under the aegis of Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, the border acquired its current official form.

  • Charles V
  • Maria Theresa of Austria
  • Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy
  • Border stone from 1559, Stabio, one of the oldest
  • Border stone from 1754, Stabio, erected in accordance with the Treaty of Varese of 1752
  • Border stone from 1861, year of Italian unification, Cadro

5 The border on paper

Maps from the first half of the 19th century showing the work of the surveyors of the canton of Ticino and the state of Milan to define the border in the mountains above Cantine di Gandria.

  • Map, no date
  • Map approved on 8 April 1834
  • The mountainous region above Cantine di Gandria where the national border runs
  • Map approved on 19 August 1816

6 The origins of the border fence

Construction of the border fence, or “ramina” as it is known in Ticino, began in the 1880s to combat smuggling. It had an ingenious alarm system consisting of bells attached using special springs. If knocked, the bells would ring and the border guards would rush to the scene.

  • Petty smugglers equipped with pincers at work
  • On the slopes of the Poncione di Arzo; note the bells fixed to the fence with special springs
  • Customs officers posing in front of the border fence

6 The border fence today

The border is fading away and nature is reclaiming its space.

  • Stabio, 2020
  • Stabio, 2020
  • Pedrinate, 2020
  • Stabio, 2020

7 Customs buildings

Customs buildings are the subject of a large number of postcards: the border increasingly represents the identity of the region and its inhabitants.

  • Customs office in Brusino Arsizio, 1939
  • Border crossing in Val Mara, between Lanzo and Arogno, no date
  • Border crossing in Pedrinate with the imposing border fence, 1915

7 The Chiasso hub

Chiasso, the gateway for international traffic over the years.

  • Chiasso Brogeda border crossing, 1960
  • Chiasso Strada border crossing, 1910
  • Chiasso Strada border crossing, 1951
  • Chiasso Strada border crossing, 2020

8 The dividing border

The border is often illogical. At one time, the property known as “La Cassina” was split in two, part of the building was on one side and part on the other, between Vacallo (CH) and Maslianico (I). The section on the Swiss side (left) was demolished in 1943. As if that were not enough, even the roof was divided by an imposing border fence.

  • West façade along the border, with glass bricks instead of windows, in 1945 with the border fence on the roof and as it looks today
  • South façade divided in two by the border fence before demolition in 1943 of the Swiss side of the building, as it looked in 1978 and today

8 The uniting border

Along the border, there are some places of worship which are shared by both Swiss and Italian churchgoers, such as the church on the San Lucio Pass (1554m), which connects Val Colla (CH) and Val Cavargna (I).

  • Market on the San Lucio Pass, 1951
  • The border fence open and guarded by a Guardia di Finanza border guard during the festival on the San Lucio Pass, 1951
  • Preparing and sharing a meal among border communities, 1951
  • Churchgoers on the San Lucio Pass in recent times

9 Smuggler dogs

Smuggler dogs first appeared in the 1880s. Man's best friend was trained to cross specific routes between Switzerland and Italy, carrying a small pack weighing between 5kg and 10kg.The border guards had orders to shoot the poor animals and killed hundreds of them.

  • Vintage postcard with smuggler dog, no date
  • Vintage postcard with smuggler dog, 1913
  • Vintage postcard with smuggler dog, no date

10 Border guards and mules

In the Italian border villages, the Guardia di Finanza border guards faced extreme hostility. They lived in very harsh conditions: strict military discipline, gruelling shifts exposed to the elements and meagre wages. The struggle between the border guards and the mules was therefore a struggle between the lowest in society.

  • 1.-5. Vintage postcards depicting scenes from the struggle between border guards and mules

11 Duke of the mountain

In the 1930s, one of the mules from the upper Valle d'Intelvi became renowned for his bravado and elusiveness. His name was Clemente Malacrida and he was known as the “Duke of the mountain”. One of his most daring exploits was an attempt to cross over from Arogno on 3 January 1934, in command of a band of no fewer than 131 mules. The smugglers were forced to flee by the border guards. After various vicissitudes, the “Duke of the mountain” was arrested. In May 1936, during an attempted escape, he was killed by the officers in unclear circumstances and the aura of mystery surrounding his death only served to fuel the myth.

  • Storia di Como. Dall’età di Volta all’epoca contemporanea (1970-1950) V/1, Como 2008, p. 212
  • Il ducato dei contrabbandieri (The dukedom of smugglers) is a novel published in 1950 by the former border guard Giuseppe Valesi, inspired by the story of Clemente Malacrida, the “Duke of the mountain”
  • Arrest warrant for Clemente Malacrida
  • Mules under the command of the “Duke of the mountain” forced to flee by border guards. La Domenica del Corriere, 12.1.1934

12 Illustrated magazines

In Italy, illustrated magazines addressed the issue of smuggling by making a spectacle of the clashes in the mountains. Swiss photojournalists were also interested in the mules, expressing sympathy and understanding for them. People on both sides of the border never considered smuggling an immoral practice.

  • La Domenica del Corriere, 19-26.7.1908
  • La Domenica del Corriere, 23.6.1901
  • La Domenica del Corriere, 8.1.1911
  • La Domenica del Corriere, 16.6.1907
  • Zürcher Illustrierte, 20.9.1935
  • Der Aufstieg, 22.5.1936. Reportage from Binn in the canton of Valais. In order to protect the mules, the location is not indicated in the article