The Hamlet of Meride

A sunny village of medieval origins on the Swiss-Italian hills, settled between vineyards and the confines of an untouched woodland that extends for 4000 acres from Monte San Giorgio to the Lugano lake without encountering a single village.

It is an ancient hamlet, which evokes stories, people and atmospheres from a time now long gone, in a space of nature and silence. It is a hamlet with an almost severe form, with houses built from stones and great doorways that reveal majestic courtyards with arches, Loggias, frescos from the 1600s. The houses are oriented to face the sun: from here comes its name, Meride, from “a meriggio” meaning ‘to the west.

The San Silvestro church, which stands over the town, was built on the foundations go an ancient castle; in the town, some houses were originally convents, built of pale stones that are lit up by the sun; in its centre there sits a small piazza with a cafe, a special place where you can meet the mountain’s community.

It is a region where everything is close at hand: 10 minutes from the motorway exit of Mendrisio, 20 minutes from Lugano, less than an hour from Milan, Bellinzona and Locrano, and just 20 minutes from Milano Malpensa Airport. It’s also comfortably reachable by train and bus.