Cevio, Grotti, Filippini and the Wine Press

3 November 2023

Cevio (Maggiatal/ Valmaggia, canton of Tessin/Ticino) and Enrico Filippini (Cevio, 1932-1988) may not be very well-known names. Yet the Italian-speaking Filippini introduced famous writers such as Walter Benjamin, Günther Gras, Max Frisch and Friedrich Dürrenmatt in Italy.

He studied in Locarno, Milan, Berlin, Munich and Paris. He worked at the Feltrinelli publishing house in Milan and as a journalist at the newspaper La Republicca and Italian television in Rome. The municipality of Cevio honoured its son with a memorial stone in 1988.

Cevio (and the hamlets Rovana and Boschetto), first mentioned in a document in 1230, is the main town of the Maggia valley at the confluence of the Maggia and Rovana rivers.

Chiessa della Rovana

Several palaces and the monumental church give the village the appearance of a town. From 1512 to 1798, bailiffs from the cantons of the Confederation ruled the Untertanengebiet Tessin. The Maggia Valley was also a baliaggio. A bailiff (balivo or commisario) from one of the cantons ruled the area for two years, after which another governor took over. The façade of the Palazzo della residenza on the square shows several names of and their cantons of origin.

The road to the grotti

The village is also famous for its centuries-old wine presses. The Museo di Valmaggia owns one wine press in a well-preserved state. The grotti (singular grotto) are also worth visiting. Grotti are small restaurants created over centuries along and in the rocks.

(Source and further information: www.vallemaggia.ch; Comune di Cevio)

Museo di Valmaggia