The small, almost perpetually sunny city of Lugano, located in Switzerland’s only Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, gracefully straddles a fine line between two identities—it is at once firmly rooted in Switzerland’s famous efficiency and pastoral beauty, while also boasting a very Italian sense of style.
An overlooked jewel hugging its very own lake—Lake Lugano—the city has long been a haven for writers and artists drawn to its palm tree-lined beauty, Alpine foothills, warm summer weather, and relative sense of ease. During the long days of COVID lockdowns, northern Swiss travelers were drawn to the city and its sense of remove (as well as drastically different weather from the rest of the country) in increased numbers. Today the spark of energy ignited by its recent increase in domestic popularity continues, and Lugano has slowly been drawing visitors from further and further afield.
Nearly 10 years ago the city welcomed an impressive new museum, MASI: The Art Museum of Italian Switzerland as part of the larger LAC: Lugano Art and Culture complex, and its contemporary gallery scene began to swell. “It is a very small city with a concentration of art spaces,” Daniele Agostini, a local curator and gallerist, tells Vogue. “A transformation happened some years ago now and there’s been the development of a more exciting art scene in Lugano.”
That transformative spirit has worked its way into Lugano’s wine-growing hills. Renowned for its unique terroir, the area’s unique microclimate also garnered more European and global attention in recent years. “Being in Switzerland, but very close to the Italian border, gives us a microclimate that has some Alpine and some Mediterranean traits at the same time,” Bendetta Molteni, a Ticinio-based oenologist tells Vogue. “Each vineyard here is different. We have porphyry, a volcanic stone, very rich in minerals, which gives us a unique and elegant Merlot, and other vineyards that are very rich in limestone, perfect for Chardonnay.”
With new, intimate wineries within the city limits, a vibrant art scene, a handful of new boutique hotels, and some of the county’s award-winning restaurants, Lugano is a city enjoying a quiet renaissance. The once relatively sleepy city, long overshadowed by its neighbor Como, has now woken up—and established itself as a destination unto itself.
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Photo: Vincenzo Tambasco