Abstract

On the Swiss shore of the Lago Maggiore, in the canton of Tessin, the village of Ascona became a center for cultural critics experimenting with alternative life-styles in the first decades of the century. The geographical location, in the middle of a stunning Alpine landscape, made the spot attractive, as did its distance from the urban centers of industrial Europe which the intellectuals attracted to Ascona derided. In addition, the proximity to an international border not only permitted some clandestine smuggling activities to go on but, more importantly, intrigued the radicals, whose anarchism and anti-authoritarianism could bring them into conflict with the police forces of any number of states.