The Host Village of Switzerland

In a forgotten fold of the Swiss Alps, a near-empty village has reinvented hospitalityby turning restraint into the ultimate luxury

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Corippo in Switzerland looks like a place holding its breath. Stone houses cling to a steep mountain side, their slab roofs pressing low, alleyways too narrow for wheels curling between them. There are no postcard chalets, no manicured lawns.

Below, the Verzasca River flashes an almost theatrical turquoise before turning wild and white against ancient rock.

People did not leave Corippo because it was unlivable, but because the world beyond it grew more lucrative. By the mid-20th century, work elsewhere pulled residents away. From over 300 inhabitants in the 19th century, the village thinned out steadily, until by December 2019, just nine people remained. It is Switzerland's smallest village by population.