Round Tour in the Mendrisiotto, the very South of Switzerland

Wednesday February 1, 2023 -- For a few hours of sunshine (5 hours) we headed to the very far south of Switzerland near Chiasso, the border crossing with Italy. Here in the south the temperatures are currently about 15 degrees!

The 12-km walk we did from Balerna to Mendrisio wasn't particularly spectacular, (the final two kilometers to Mendrisio were through industry and passed several times beneath the freeway) but besides simply being out in the sun, there are always many interesting things to discover, mostly of course Baroque churches with stunning paintings and frescoes (including a version of the Last Supper painted in the late1500's by a local painter called Giovanni Tarilli, a very prolific painter in the Ticino region). 

Furthermore, part of our hike took us through the "Valle della Motta", where we learned about the Blue Clay of Boscherina, the only place in Switzerland with such clay, deposited here millions of years ago when the Mediterranean Sea covered parts of Switzerland. This clay was used to make bricks here in the 19th Century and as late as 1979.

It takes us less than two hours to get to Lugano, and from there we took an urban train further south. This is a look at Monte Brè as the train crosses Lake Lugano at Melide. 

Starting at the train station in Balerna (near the main border crossing at Chiasso) at 10:40, our first stop is the Sant'Antonio da Padova Oratorio and park, on a small hill. (Note that an advantage of leafless trees in winter is that we see details that would otherwise be hidding by the leaves!)

There was some really impressive mosaic work on the front side of this church. Interestingly enough, the entrance was on the other side. A painting on the side of the church indicates that it was built in 1685 and renovated in 1929.

Sant'Antonio Park

A very Mediterranean look with the palm trees and pine trees (the ones where pine nuts come from). In the back is Monte Morello, which we will ascend on our walk. 

From the hill we get a view into the Muggio Valley to the north

And a close-up view over the roofs of Balerna

A final look back across the Sant'Antonio park as we make our way down to the freeway and to the stream in the "Valle della Motta"

It was just over 12 km to walk from Balerna to Mendrisio via Monte Morella right at the Italian border. 

We discovered that the trail next to the stream in the "Valle della Motta" is a didactic trail with loads of information about the geology, biology and history of the area. In particular, a rupture of the straight of Gibraltar 4-5 Million years caused flooding of the Mediterranean, and parts of Switzerland were underwater. When those waters receded, a particular blue clay sediment, unique in Switzerland, was left here.

In this blue clay pit, clay was extracted to produce bricks which form the basis of the architecture of the Mendrisiotto region. You are allowed to play with the clay, but may not take any fossils or crystals that you might find!

Information about the unique blue clay sediment here and how it came to be when the area was flooded by the Mediterranean Sea 4-5 Million years ago, leaving behind many fossilized sea creatures. 

Following the stream in the Valle della Motta before ascending to Novazzano

After a bit of inspection of the village of Novazzano, we are going to head to Monte Morello (a small uphill hike) and from there to Brusata and Genestrerio (we took a shortcut to Genestrerio, so it didn't take 2 hours from here)

The main street in Novazzano is just wide enough for the postbus, bringing the kids home from school. It's noon, and the kids are off school now for the day (Wednesdays are half-days)

Main square in Novazzano with the church "Chiesa di Santi Quirico e Giulitta". The bells were just ringing noon-time.

In the square were several placards with interesting information about historical sites in the area. One of these described the north wing of the parish church, a "winter chapel" containing some important artwork by local artists, in particular Giovanni Battista Tarilli (1549-1614), whose artwork we have run across in very many chapels in Canton Tessin. We set off to find his painting of the "Last Supper".

First an inspection of the artwork in the main part of the church. The church was first mentioned in documents of 1330, but rebuilt in 1779

At the main altar we discovered there was also a painting of the last supper, although unsure if this is also by Tarilli. It's not the one we were looking for. (For a change the painting shows people sitting on this side of the table as well!)

This was the artwork in the winter chapel. Tarilli used more pastel colours than Da Vinci. Many artists copied the original last supper painting. This artwork here would be from end of the 1500's. The Baroque altar (1711) is from another local artist. 

Heading up the hill now, Monte Morello. These stations of the cross were beautiful three-dimensional designs made in clay. I could not photograph them because the glass coverings reflected the light.

Radio/TV tower on the summit of Monte Morello. Besides the tower, there are a few residences and a horse farm. From here we headed to Pignora, the historical customs and border crossing for this area (no longer accessible)

Heading down the hill, we were surprised by this view of the Monte Rosa Massif 86 km to the West in Canton Valais!

The old customs house at the border between Switzerland and Italy

This old border crossing is now closed to vehicular traffic. I am standing at the border stone. The people behind me are taking a stroll in the forests of Italy. 

The next village we passed was Brusata. We ended a previous hike here about a year ago (those photos are HERE), and the chapel is still locked. 

VIDEO:

We discovered that today, February 1, is the day that all the air raid alarms in Switzerland are tested. It is always an eerie thing to hear this:

Leaving Brusata and on our way to Genestrerio. This is a view to Monte Generoso north of us. 

In particular we wanted to see the church in Genestrerio. We had never seen such an unusual construction, and without even looking it up, we rightly guessed that this was one of Mario Botta's constructions. He is one of Switzerland's most popular architects

The parish church of "Sant'Antonio Abate" dates from 1651, and the new entrance was created by Mario Botta in 2001-2002. (Personally, I find it difficult to look at).

These beautiful bronze doors are a 2008 creation of an artist named Selim Abdullah from Baghdad, living in Switzerland on and off since 1981

The rest of our walk to the train station in Mendrisio was along the Laveggio river (this is actually a park) but you could definitely tell you were near a big city.

We had to pass beneath railway and freeway bridges...and later through some industry before reaching Mendrisio train station at about 15:20. 

Our +3-hour walk from Balerna to Mendrisio in the very south of Switzerland near the Italian borders. 

On the way back to Lugano, a look across the lake at Monte Generoso. The Mendrisiotto region is to the south of this mountain. 

Chiasso is the border city and on the main line to Milan. This is the southernmost part of Switzerland These are the hikes we have done to date in this area. 

The location of the Mendrisiotto region of Switzerland. It takes us a little over two hours to get here by public transit due to the Gotthard base Tunnel which passes under the Alps from Altdorf to Biasca, and where the train can go 200 km/hr.