Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

LUGANO

Lugano commemorates 150th anniversary of the death of philosopher Carlo Cattaneo

Lugano is paying tribute to the Italian philosopher who helped shape modern Italy but lived in exile in Switzerland for two decades.

Published: 7 February 2019 11:20 CET
Lugano commemorates 150th anniversary of the death of philosopher Carlo Cattaneo
The Italian philosopher and revolutionary Carlo Cattaneo died in exile in Lugano, Switzerland, in 1869. Photo: Historical Archive of the City of Lugano.

“The anniversary is important for the City of Lugano because Cattaneo lived there in exile, after the Five Days of Milan, from 1848 to his death, which took place in the house of Castagnola on February 5th, 1869,” Pietro Montorfani, head of Lugano's historical archive, told The Local. 

Italian philosopher Carlo Cattaneo led the Milan city council during the 1848 uprising in Lombardy against the occupation by Austrian forces under Marshal Radetzky. 

The so-called Five Days of Milan saw residents of the northern Italian city rise up and boycott tobacco and gambling, key revenues for the Austrians – which resulted in violent street clashes.

That protest is widely seen as the one of the incidents that kickstarted the Italian 'Risorgimento' (the Italian unification movement led by Garibaldi) and Italy's drive towards independence and a unified nation state.

But when the Austrians returned to occupy Milan in revenge for the uprising led by Cattaneo, the Italian philosopher was forced to flee to Lugano in late 1848, where he wrote his most famous work, History of the 1848 Revolution.

He died just over 20 years later in 1869 outside the Italian-speaking Swiss city of Lugano, where he had spent the last 20 years of his life in exile. 

Now the city is commemorating the 150th anniversary of the death of one of its most famous residents with a series of talks and events in schools, museums and universities. 

The talks on Cattaneo cover everything from his time in and subsequent influence on the canton of Ticino; the philosopher's impact on European thought, as well as the thinker's contemporary relevance. 

“Catteneo is one of the most important Italian-Swiss exiles,” Pietro Montorfani, head of Lugano's historical archive, told The Local.

The Five Days of Milan uprising, as well as other similar revolts across the Italian peninsula in 1848, contributed to Italy's First War of Independence. 

Cattaneo was elected to the Italian parliament several times after Italy's unification in 1861. Each time he refused to take up his seat, citing resistance to swearing an oath to the king.  

Cattaneo always rejected Cavour and Garibaldi's overtures to join their movement because of opposition to its patron, Victor Emmanuel II, the king of the House of Savoy in Piedmont. Cattaneo was a lifelong and staunch republican.

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about March 17th, Italy's Unity Day

Zeitgeist in the house

Cattaneo died in 1869 but the home he lived in in Castagnola, on the outskirts of Lugano, inherited some of his revolutionary spirit.

“Two Latvian exiles, Rainis and Aspazija also lived in that same building from 1906 to 1908,” adds Montorfani. From 1980 to 2019, Cattaneo's former home in exile served as the seat of the Historical Archive of the City of Lugano.

The season of commemorative events from March to October 2019 is organized by the Carlo Cattaneo Association, the Italian-Swiss Committee for the publication of the works of Cattaneo, the State Archives of the Canton of Ticino, the Cantonal Library of Lugano and the Historical Archive of the City of Lugano.

The commemoration is translational. Events are scheduled in Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland, as well as in the Italian cities of Milan and Castellanza, home to Carlo Cattaneo University.

Some of the commemoration's highlights include: 

Lugano

March 11th, March 25th, April 1st, 18:00: 'The Return of Carlo Cattaneo: 1869 to 2019'

Various experts will introduce Cattaneo's work, life and influence. 

Location: University of Italian Switzerland, Red Palace – Hall A 11, Via Giuseppe Buffi 13, 6900 Lugano.

March 25th, 18:00–19:30: 'Cattaneo in Lugano'

A reflection on Cattaneo's presence in and influence on the canton of Ticino, as well as a review of his philosophy. 

Location: University of Italian Switzerland, Red Palace – Hall A 11, Via Giuseppe Buffi 13, 6900 Lugano.

May 7th, 18:00, September 7th, 18:00: 'Carlo Cattaneo – A European intellectual in Lugano'

A talk on Cattaneo's influence on European identity. 

Location: Cantonal Library, viale C. Cattaneo 6, 6900, Lugano.

May 15th: 'Cattaneo's places in images'

A virtual tour through the places Cattaneo lived and worked in: Milan, Zurich, Livorno, Lugano, Paris, Naples. 

Location: Liceo Cantonale, viale C. Cattaneo 4, 6900, Lugano. 

Castellanza

April 10th: 'Carlo Cattaneo, contemporary thinker'

A course with several interventions from experts.

Location: L'Università Carlo Cattaneo, Corso G. Matteotti, 22, 21053 Castellanza VA. 

Milan

March 19th, 11:00: Series of talks

'Cattaneo and Milan', commemoration of the Five Days of Milan, by Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala
'Cattaneo before and after 1848', by Mariachiara Fugazza
'The relevance of Carlo Cattaneo' Illustration of the initiatives for the 150th anniversary, by Alberto Martinelli

Location: Town Hall, hall of the City Council, building Marino, Piazza della Scala 2, Milan.

March 19th, 18:00: 'The modernity of Carlo Cattaneo'

Conference organized by the Istituto Lombardo Accademia of Sciences and Letters.

Location: Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Maria salon Teresa, via Brera 28, 20121, Milan. 

October 29th-30th: 'Cattaneo after Cattaneo'

An international conference promoted by the Italian-Swiss Committee,

Location: Museo del Risorgimento, via Borgonuovo 23, 20121, Milan.

READ MORE: Italy's most famous politicians

 

LAUSANNE

Four great Swiss cities to live in apart from Geneva and Zurich

Switzerland’s two largest cities are the traditional expatriate hubs, and they are also the most expensive ones. But there are also other Swiss towns with lots to offer the international community.

Published: 31 August 2020 17:07 CEST
Updated: 29 July 2022 11:25 CEST
Four great Swiss cities to live in apart from Geneva and Zurich
Lugano is a great city for international community. Photo by AFP

The information for all four cities will be relevant to foreign nationals. Keep in mind though that some statistics date back to 2018 or 2019, but are the latest published. This is especially important regarding the employment figures, as joblessness has increased during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Basel

One of the advantages of this historic city in the northwest of Switzerland is its geographical position at the border of both Germany and France. This means that the town is ‘opened’ to the world in the literal sense of the word — because of its location on the river Rhine, Basel boasts Switzerland’s only merchant port.

As the centre of Switzerland’s pharma industry with companies such as Novartis and Roche headquartered here, the city has long attracted foreign nationals to its shores.

On the arts and culture front, Basel has 40 world-class museums, which is a lot for a city of just over 200,000 people.

Photo by AFP

Last but certainly not least, there is Basel’s Old Town. With its winding cobblestone streets and historic architecture, it is one of the best preserved and prettiest in Europe.

Useful information:

Foreign nationals: 36.4 percent.

Unemployment rate: 3 percent

Average net monthly salary: 5,280 francs

Average rent (based on size), 3 bedrooms: 2,520 francs / month

Public transportation: bus, tram

Nearest international airport: Basel EuroAIrport for short and medium-haul international flights; Zurich airport for intercontinental flights, about 100 km by train or motorway.

Bern

Located near the linguistic border between French and German-speaking Switzerland, the capital city has a very picturesque medieval city centre recognised by UNESCO as a Cultural World Heritage Site.

Despite its relatively small size (144,000 residents), Bern also possesses one of the longest shopping promenades in Europe.

Photo by AFP

Why is this city great for expats? One of the reasons is that its central location and political status means  residents can take advantage of the frequent and reliable public transportation to other major Swiss cities.

Useful information:

Foreign nationals: 16.3 percent

Unemployment rate: 1.8 percent 

Average net monthly salary: 5,490 francs

Average rent (based on size), 3 bedrooms: 2,485 francs

Public transportation: bus, tram

Nearest international airport: Zurich, about 130 km by train or motorway

Lausanne

The picturesque Vaud capital offers a lot to the international resident.

In 2019, it was been named the ‘best small city in the world’ in Monocle magazine’s Small Cities Index, which ranked the best 25 small towns with a population under 200,000. 

Lausanne topped the chart for its public transport network, global outlook, diverse population, natural setting, and other factors.

It also has one of the world’s top universities, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), as well as the world-famous Swiss Hospitality Management School.

It is a very cosmopolitan city and several multinational companies are based either in Lausanne itself or its surrounding areas.

Among them are Philip Morris International, Tetra, Owens-Illinois, Huawei Technologies, and — just 20 km away in Vevey — Nestlé.

From the health prospective, Lausanne is the location of Switzerland’s largest university hospital, CHUV. 

Lausanne’s location at the shore of Lake Geneva also offers an easy and convenient access to France — the city of Evian can be reached by ferry in half an hour.

Useful information:

Foreign nationals: 43.2 percent

Unemployment rate: no figure available for Lausanne; 3 percent in Vaud.

Average net monthly salary: 5,375 francs

Average rent (based on size), 3 bedrooms: 2,930 francs a month

Public transportation: bus

Nearest international airport: Geneva, about 50 km by train or motorway

Lugano

Switzerland’s most southern town, Lugano in canton Ticino, is great not only for its laid-back lifestyle and Mediterranean climate, but also for its access to northern Italy — an hour’s train ride to Milan, for instance, or a quick 45-minute boat ride to Lake Como.

Photo by Cristian Musolino on Unsplash

According to the relocation site InterNations, Lugano “is not only an excellent testament to the very high standard of life enjoyed by most of the population across Switzerland; it is also the home of the largest Italian-speaking community outside of Italy. As a result, life in Lugano means getting to experience a mix of two different cultures.

Useful information:

Foreign nationals: 38.5 percent

Unemployment rate: no figure available for Lugano, but 3.4 percent in Ticino

Average net monthly salary: 4,596 francs

Average rent (based on size), 3 bedrooms: 2,187 francs a month

Public transportation: bus

Nearest international airport: Milan, about 75 km by train or motorway

As a comparison, the average monthly salary in Geneva is 5,870 francs net, and a rent for a 3-bedroom flat is 3,505 a month.

In Zurich, the average month wage is 6,535 francs after taxes, and a monthly rent for a 3-bedroom flat is 3,540.

For all the cities, we have listed the rent for a 3-bedroom flat in the centre; smaller apartments away from the city centre will be significantly cheaper. 

SHOW COMMENTS