The Swiss village that wants to become a hotel

Only 12 inhabitants now live in the village of Corippo in the Verzasca Valley, southern Switzerland. To survive, it is becoming a hotel resort for tourists looking for a different vacation experience.

Corippo, one of Switzerland’s smallest villages, mainly consists of empty stone houses. Once upon a time, more than 300 people lived there. Today, only 12 are left and almost everyone’s retired. The remaining inhabitants want to bring the village back to life – at least in the summer. The Corippo FoundationExternal link has set itself the task of reviving the village as a tourism project.

Fabio Giacomazzi, architect of the foundation, recently presented the concept: the village restaurant will become the reception, the village square the lobby, the streets will be the corridors and some of the houses will be the hotel rooms, which can be booked from the summer of 2019.

About CHF3.25 million ($3.27 million) is earmarked for the first construction phase. By 2020, Corippo will become part of the new municipality of Verzasca, which will merge seven villages and have a combined population of around 900.  (RTS/SDA/swissinfo.ch)

​​​​​​​