A deeply renovated patrician office, a new secretary and many projects to enhance the territory. President Pierfranco Chiappini recounts the new season of an institution that brings together around 900 Brissaghesi from all over the world and has an immense forest heritage. Mayor Marcacci Rossi: \u2018Patriziato is an important part of our roots\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One hundred and thirty years of history, an immense territorial heritage and a new generation ready to take the baton. The Patriziato di Brissago celebrates an important anniversary and does so at a time of renewal, with the aim of strengthening its role in the life of the community, enhancing the mountains and forests that overlook the country and building new forms of collaboration with the institutions and with those who live and work in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This phase is told by President Pierfranco Chiappini, who took over the leadership of the Patriziato after last year's elections. With him, four members in their early thirties sit in the Patriotic Office, while the Management Committee has also been renewed, with a significant presence of young people and women. A new cashier secretary was also appointed: Jade Arnaboldi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A change that marks the beginning of a new season. After a few years of tensions and divergences, which have now been overcome, the aim is to start again in a constructive spirit, re-establishing a climate of collaboration and trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was asked to be a bit of a coach, to accompany the change and to help start the future of the Patriziato. I willingly made myself available, but on a fixed-term basis\", explains Chiappini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its goal is above all to accompany a new generation towards an autonomous management of the institution. \u201cWe have had a very positive response from young people. There are five of us in the patrician office, four of whom have exceeded 30. They are no longer boys, they already have their maturity and all the qualities to do well. They are more creative, they have more energy and I am convinced that they will be able to do a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President hopes that, once the four-year period has ended, the new members will be able to continue independently, giving continuity to the path started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Patriziato di Brissago is an important part of our roots, our history and our attachment to the territory. A heritage of values and traditions to be preserved and handed down - says the mayor, Veronica Marcacci Rossi -. The excellent relations with the Town Hall are also fundamental. As headmaster of schools, I am particularly happy when these two realities meet, giving life to moments of sharing that allow children to learn more about the territory, the traditions and the origins of the families from which they come. These are valuable opportunities to keep the link between past and future alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mayor concludes her reflection with \u2018great wishes for a fresh and young team, led by a captain \u2013 a little less young \u2013 with the desire to listen and collect ideas and sensibilities that are also different, but without ever losing the authenticity of their origins. Have a good way for all of us!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A community of 900 patricians<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Patriziato di Brissago brings together around 900 members, many of whom live far from their country of origin, in other regions of Switzerland and also abroad. A community that preserves a historical and family bond with Brissago, even when the events of life have led its members to settle elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The patricians represent an important peculiarity of Ticino's institutional history. They are bodies governed by public law that have their roots in the ancient local communities and that, over the centuries, have preserved the ownership and management of collective assets, especially woods, alps, pastures and land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their function is not only to administer an estate. They contribute to the conservation of the landscape, to the care of the territory and to the preservation of the historical and cultural testimonies of the communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concept of patrician belonging has also evolved over time. Alongside transmission through families, Ticino legislation now provides, under certain conditions, for the possibility of acquiring patrician status even for people who have more recently built a stable bond with the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is an evolution that makes it possible to reconcile the continuity of traditions with openness to new generations and new family realities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A party to find yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The 130th anniversary was celebrated in recent weeks with an event at Casa Baccal\u00e0, to which patricians, the population and the authorities were invited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to organise anything particularly challenging, but we also didn\u2019t want to let this anniversary go unnoticed,\u201d says Chiappini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The day opened with a brief official part, during which the president, the mayor and some representatives of the institutions spoke, including the vice-president of the Ticino Patricians\u2019 Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A small exhibition of photographs and documents dedicated to the most recent history of the Patriziato, its activities and ongoing projects was also set up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then the convivial moment, with a lunch that brought together about fifty participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were pleasantly surprised by the answer. We did not expect a large turnout, but it was a very successful day. It is an experience that we would like to repeat, precisely in order to better cultivate relations between the patrician office, the patricians and the population.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The success of the event confirmed the importance of creating opportunities for meetings, especially for an institution whose members are now spread over a much larger territory than the municipality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eleven million square meters of forests and mountains<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Patriziato di Brissago owns an extraordinary amount of land: about 11 million square metres, mainly consisting of woods, pastures and mountain areas that extend over the town, towards Pizzo Leone and on the slope that leads to Centovalli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018I often explain this to the Municipality with a very simple image: we own the upper part of the territory, while the Municipality is the owner above all of the lower part\u2019, notes Chiappini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A huge wealth from a territorial and environmental point of view, which however does not automatically translate into an equally important financial availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe problem is that these surfaces are difficult to reach and exploit. There are laws, regulations, environmental constraints and high costs. We can authorise logging, of course in accordance with forestry regulations, but this is limited. We do not have a professional and structured exploitation of our forest heritage\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The situation is different from that of other Ticino patricians, such as Losone or Ascona, who have more resources and can develop economic activities and larger projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chiappini cites in particular the example of Losone, which owns a forest holding and has invested in the construction of infrastructure for the management of its forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a completely different reality from ours. They have an extra gear. We have an immense territory, but it generates very modest revenues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this reason, the new administration intends to proceed with caution, identifying interventions proportionate to its possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course we have to start with finances, because without resources it is difficult to carry out important projects. But there are also many things that can be done with goodwill, commitment and people\u2019s involvement\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From major projects to concrete initiatives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the dossiers that the new administration has had to deal with is that of a forest road, the design of which began about fifteen years ago, with the aim of making some valuable wooded areas of patrician property, located behind the Pizzo Leone, accessible and allowing a more rational exploitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the years, the project had reached a considerable financial size, with an investment estimated at CHF 3 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After reviewing the situation, the new Patriotic Office has decided to move towards more contained and sustainable solutions, favoring interventions capable of producing concrete benefits for the territory and for those who continue to frequent and use the mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Patriziato has a legacy of CHF 100 000, which could contribute to the realisation of an alternative project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the ideas being studied concerns the improvement of the water supply on the Alpe di Naccio, where some infrastructures require action to ensure a safer and more regular availability of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is an important need for owners, breeders and agricultural activities that are still present, especially during the summer season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The intention is to work together with the institutions concerned to find a shared and lasting solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pastures, the breeders and the presence of the wolf<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside the woods, the Patriziato also has areas for grazing, including those of the Alpe di Naccio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even in this sector, however, economic performance is very limited. The main difficulty is finding people willing to continue a demanding activity, which requires a constant presence in the mountains and which in recent years has also had to deal with the problem of large predators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The presence of the wolf, in particular, is a concern for sheep farmers. Chiappini recalls the case of a breeder who lost about a third of his flock as a result of predation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite these difficulties, some young people continue to believe in mountain farming and use patrician pastures. The Patriziato tries to support them, in the knowledge that their activity also contributes to the conservation of the landscape and the maintenance of open surfaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An interesting example is that of Remy Graf, who has taken up a family tradition and started a grazing project with four Irish cattle. The peculiarity of these animals is that they also feed on ferns, helping to contain the spread of vegetation that risks invading some surfaces of particular naturalistic value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have federally protected land that we need to keep free from ferns. Before this work was carried out by groups of volunteers, with costs covered through public contributions. We have now found a different solution, supporting an agricultural activity that achieves the same result\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to make grazing possible, it was also necessary to improve the water supply, through the laying of an underground reservoir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a concrete example of collaboration between Patriziato, cantonal services and breeders, in which the care of the territory is combined with the support of a traditional economic activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A small house in the core to be enhanced<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Another project concerns a small building of about thirty square meters on three floors, located in the nucleus of Brissago, which the Municipality has recently donated to the Patriziato.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A deeply renovated patrician office, a new secretary and many projects to enhance the territory. President Pierfranco Chiappini recounts the new season of an institution that brings together around 900 Brissaghesi from all over the world and has an immense forest heritage. Mayor Marcacci Rossi: \u2018Patriziato is an important part of our roots\u2019. One hundred and thirty years of history, [...]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[241,240],"class_list":["post-6790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-patrizi","tag-patriziato"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brissago.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brissago.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brissago.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brissago.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brissago.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6790"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.brissago.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6799,"href":"https:\/\/www.brissago.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6790\/revisions\/6799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brissago.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brissago.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brissago.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brissago.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}