Soglio named most beautiful Swiss village

The village, perched on a south-facing bench of land overlooked by spiky peaks in the Bergell region, beat out 49 others for the 2015 honour, organizers said on Thursday.

It was selected by a vote of around 35,000 people organized by the Schweizer Ilustrierte and L’Illustré magazines, in conjunction with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation.

With around 300 Italian-speaking residents, Soglio is famous for catching the attention of 19th century Italian-Swiss painter Giovanni Segantini (1858-1899), who called it the “gateway to paradise”.

Its narrow stone streets weave between historic homes huddled around the St. Lorenzo church, whose belfry dominates the community.

The Palazzo Salis, a 17th century hotel with gardens visited by Segantini, was named historic hotel of the year in 1998.

An event to celebrate Soglio’s honour is planned in the municipality for early October, Schweizer Ilustrierte said.

Soglio beat out eight other finalists, including Guarda, another Graubünden village.

Others in the running included Romainmôtier and Yvorne (in the canton of Vaud), Charmey (Fribourg), Cerlier/Erlach (Bern), Werdenberg (Saint Gallen), and Bosco Gurin and Corippo (Ticino).