The border crossing at ChiassoView of Grenzgipfel, the highest point of the Swiss border, just off Dufourspitze, the highest point on Swiss soil.
The border between the modern states of Switzerland and Italy extends for 744 kilometres (462 mi),[1] from the French-Swiss-Italian tripoint at Mont Dolent in the west to the Austrian-Swiss-Italian tripoint near Piz Lad in the east.
Much of the border runs across the High Alps, rising above 4,600 metres (15,100 ft) as it passes east of Dufourspitze, but it also descends to the lowest point in Switzerland as it passes Lago Maggiore at below 200 metres (660 ft).
The border is a product of the Napoleonic period, established with the provisional constitution of the Helvetic Republic of 15 January 1798, restored in 1815.
While this border existed as a border of Switzerland from 1815, there was only a unified Italian state to allow the existence of a "Swiss-Italian border" with the formation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, it previously comprised the borders between Switzerland and the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia and the province of Cisleithania of Austria-Hungary.
There remained some territorial disputes after the formation of the Kingdom of Italy, resolved in the Convenzione tra l'Italia e la Svizzera per l'accertamento della frontiera fra la Lombardia ed il Cantone dei Grigioni of 1863.[2] Other Swiss-Italian treaties regarding the course of the border date to 1873/4,[3] 1936/7[4] and 1941.[5]
Since 1946, it has remained unchanged as the border between the Italian Republic and the Swiss Confederation, with the exception of minor corrections and exchanges of territory,[6] such as the inclusion of the Lago di Lei barrage in Switzerland in the 1950s.[7] In 2008 Switzerland became part of the Schengen Area, meaning that border controls were removed along this border as of 12 December 2008. However, while border guards from both countries are no longer allowed to stop travellers for the sole purpose of passport checks, they can still carry out customs checks, as Switzerland is not in the EU Customs Union.
In May 2023, a joint Italian-Swiss commission agreed to redraw a border that traverses an Alpine peak as melting glaciers shift the historically defined frontier. Switzerland officially approved the treaty in September 2024, but Italy still needs to sign.[8][9]
The Swiss-Italian border here has the peculiarity of including the reservoir of Lago di Lei in Italy but in an artificial salient including the reservoir's dam in Switzerland.
Turning south again it traverses Val Bregaglia at Castasegna and turns east towards Cima di Castello, now forming the northern border of the Valtellina, a territory that was lost by the Three Leagues in 1797 with the formation of the Cisalpine Republic.
Map showing the location of the Campione enclave near the centre.
Campione d'Italia is a comune of the Province of Como in the Lombardy region of Italy and an exclave surrounded by the Swiss canton of Ticino. At its closest, the exclave is less than one kilometre (0.6 mi) from the rest of Italy, but the intervening mountainous terrain requires a journey by road of over 14 km (9 mi) to reach the nearest Italian town, Lanzo d'Intelvi, and over 28 km (17 mi) to reach the city of Como.
The entire territory of the Italian village was de facto included in the Swiss Customs Area as per a unilateral decision by the Swiss authorities. Being an exclave of Italy, it is not possible to reach the territory without crossing either Swiss territory or waters. On 1 January 2020, Campione and the Italian waters of Lake Lugano became part of the European Customs Union and a customs border crossing and check points were established.[11][12]
Transportation
Trains of TILO operate on cross-border railway lines between the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, and Lombardy, Italy
As of the December 2023 timetable change,[update] cross-border services between Italy and Switzerland exist on the following railway lines (from West to East):
The highest border crossing by cable car is at Testa Grigia (3,458 m (11,345 ft)). It is also the highest Alpine crossing, culminating near the summit of the Klein Matterhorn at 3,821 m (12,536 ft) above sea level.[15]
Illegal immigration
In 2016, due to increased illegal immigration from Italy into Switzerland related to the European migrant crisis, the Swiss government cracked down on the practice, establishing more stringent controls in Swiss-bound trains and deploying helicopter and drone patrols.[16][17] The government rejected calls to build a fence along the border.[18] In April 2017, the Italian foreign ministry called the Swiss ambassador for "urgent talks" after Switzerland decided to close "three minor border crossings" at night.[19]
^0.132.454.2, Abkommen zwischen der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft und dem Königreich Italien über die Festlegung der italienisch-schweizerischen Grenze auf der Strecke zwischen Run Do oder Cima Garibaldi und Mont Dolent, 24 July 1941
^US Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, ed. (23 October 1961). "Italy–Switzerland Boundary"(PDF). International Boundary Study (12). Retrieved 9 September 2021.
^Paddison, Laura (1 October 2024). "Italy and Switzerland have agreed to shift their shared border in the Alps. Here's why". CNN. Retrieved 2 October 2024. Part of the border between Italy and Switzerland is set to be redrawn as the glaciers that mark the boundary melt, in yet another sign of how much humans are changing the world by burning planet-heating fossil fuels.
